Jack Grealish’s first goal for Everton secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday - and our Blues jury have returned to have their say on the game
Connor O'Neill
Connor O'Neill
Connor O'Neill joined the ECHO's sports team in September 2020, having previously worked as a UK football writer for Belfast Live and on the Reach regional sports wire team. He mainly provides content for our Everton and Liverpool pages and is a regular contributor to the Royal Blue podcast. In addition to covering football, Connor can also be found ringside, covering the big boxing fights involving fighters from Merseyside.
Jack Grealish scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Everton came from behind to beat Crystal Palace on Sunday. The Blues were largely second best against Oliver Glasner’s side and fell behind when Daniel Munoz finished past Jordan Pickford eight minutes before the break.
But Iliman Ndiaye restored parity from the penalty spot 16 minutes from time after Tim Iroegbunam had been brought down by Maxence Lacroix. And then, three minutes into stoppage time, Grealish sent Hill Dickinson Stadium wild when he scored from close range.
The 2-1 victory means the Blues head into the international break eighth in the Premier League table - and our Everton jury have returned to have their say.
Paul McParlan - Feeling like home?
It can take time to adapt. When you move home or change jobs, it can take a while to feel comfortable in your new surroundings, especially when you have fond memories of the place you have left behind.
But these are events that you would expect to happen in life, whereas moving to a new football stadium to support your team is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
It has been a process of adjustment going to our new arena and trying to recreate an atmosphere like Goodison Park. You may not be sitting with family members, work colleagues or friends you have known for years any more.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium has not created many lingering memories yet, but maybe that might be about to change.
After the League Cup loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers and the underwhelming display against West Ham United, the manager and the team needed to respond and end the sequence of four games without a win.
It didn’t help that we were playing Crystal Palace, who came into this match unbeaten in 19 games.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 5: Jack Grealish of Everton celebrates scoring the second and winning goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 5, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Jack Grealish blows kisses to the South Stand after scoring Everton's dramatic winner against Crystal Palace
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Everton struggled to cope with the visitors' pace, especially on the flanks, and their ability to create chances. In reality, we were lucky to only be one goal behind at the interval. You could sense the edginess and frustration of fans growing.
I have criticised David Moyes in the past for his failure to make game-changing substitutions early enough. On Sunday, he proved me wrong, removing the hapless Thierno Barry and the lacklustre Tyler Dibling and bringing on Beto and Charly Alcaraz, who made an immediate impact.
Beto put their defenders under pressure, and Charly injected much-needed pace and directness into our play. The crowd loved it, and the vocal backing for the team increased incrementally.
The Eagles midfielder, Yeremy Pino, made the mistake of riling supporters with his antics over trying to delay our fee-kick. The roar that greeted him being shoved to the ground by James Garner was priceless.
For the first time here, you could feel the venom and vitriol emanating from the Evertonians. Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty ramped up the frenzy, and Jack Grealish’s injury-time winner unleashed a crescendo of joyous celebration that reverberated around the arena.
Everyone was on their feet, cheering and celebrating. The fans had turned our new home into a bearpit, and didn’t we love it!
This felt like one of those Goodison days when the ferocious fanaticism of the Everton faithful fuelled a frantic, febrile finale. It has taken time, but coming out of the stadium, hearing the chorus of ‘Spirit of the Blues’ being bellowed out across the banks of the Mersey, it felt like home.
It has taken a few games, but the Hill Dickinson Stadium has started to create the first of many memories. The spirit of the Old Lady lives on in our state-of-the-art stadium!
Mark McParlan - A seismic result that
Sunday was a seismic result that should rejuvenate our season after a disappointing spell. I said in last week’s jury that it was a fixture we should be looking to win, and that we (eventually) did. Crystal Palace are a team I refuse to be scared of.
Firstly, it’s probably still important to caveat any forthcoming praise by not forgetting that first half; the same problems we’d seen in the second half against West Ham continued.
Palace were running rings around us and were deservedly ahead at the break. We created nothing. Starts for Thierno Barry and Tyler Dibling hadn’t worked out.
It seemed again that teams had worked out if they double up on Jack Grealish, our threat is neutralised, with no pace forthcoming from full-back.
Half-time, Carlos Alcaraz’s introduction aside, seemed to present the all-too-familiar Barry/Beto swap pattern again. Even in the second half, we rode our luck massively at times – particularly Jean-Philippe Mateta’s miss.
But the introductions of Beto and Alcaraz changed the game. Alcaraz showed why he has been unlucky to be out of the side – his sudden drive forward and shot on target out of nowhere set the tone for the second half.
Tyler Dibling during the match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 5, 2025
Tyler Dibling during the match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium on October 5, 2025(Image: Emma Simpson/Everton FC Official Photography Library/SmartFrame)
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It’s also worth mentioning that the goals only arrived after an enforced change which saw Jake O’Brien moved to his natural centre-half position, James Garner to right-back, and an impactful Tim Ireogbunam come on, who won the penalty which set events in motion.
He has something to offer off the bench this season, especially if Merlin Rohl’s dubious injury record persists.
Also of huge importance was the impact of the match on the Evertonians and on the Hill Dickinson atmosphere. Not that there was any doubt in my mind about the new ground, but that last-minute Grealish winner, coming from behind against a fancied side, was a moment needed to really solidify Bramley-Moore in hearts and minds.
That second-half noise, that roar, was a powerful force. The South Stand is finding its voice – but there were moments too later on where the North Stand could be heard singing its own tune, much as the Park End once did.
Going forward, can we fit Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Alcaraz into the team? Perhaps Alcaraz in the 10, Dewsbury-Hall in central midfield, and Garner as full-back? Again, the squad depth in the attacking areas looks good.
My only concern, however, is Manchester City away the time to make more offensive changes? Possibly not. And the defence has been good – we’ve conceded 7 in 7. In last season’s Premier League, only Arsenal had a GA better than one per game.
To return to the main point, that Crystal Palace match was a massive victory for the team, the fans, and indeed, our new home. Good to have our first ‘Singing the Blues’ rendition there, too.
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