Moments missed from Everton's 2-0 win over Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium
James Tarkowski clashes with Kenny Tete during the match between Everton and Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on November 8, 2025
James Tarkowski clashes with Kenny Tete during the match between Everton and Fulham at Hill Dickinson Stadium on November 8, 2025
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Everton returned to winning ways ahead of the final international break of the calendar year. The Blues ran out 2-0 at home to Fulham on Saturday.
A close-range finish from Idrissa Gueye in first-half injury-time opened the scoring and it was left up to Michael Keane to convert from a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall free kick nine minutes from the end of normal time to seal a welcome three points.
The nature of the victory would have been even more emphatic had VAR not ruled out three further Everton goals. But then you knew all that, didn't you?
But here are some potential moments missed from the clash at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Run, run whoever you may be
Perhaps Fulham’s Kenny Tete should have signed for Everton after all?
In recent years when the Blues have been battling for their Premier League lives, supporters have made banners calling for their players to 'fight for us' - and that spirit seems to be in the blood for the Dutch international.
Everton tried to sign Tete this summer on a Bosman-style free transfer when his contract at Craven Cottage was about to expire but despite coming close to agreeing a move to Merseyside, the right-back performed a U-Turn to stay in London and sign a new deal for improved terms.
The son of a former kickboxing champion who became a well-known doorman in Amsterdam, Tete also has an uncle who won world titles at Muay Thai before becoming a personal trainer and back in 2017, while playing for Olympique Lyonnais in a Europa League tie at Goodison Park, he was involved in a mass brawl.
Sparked when home skipper Ashley Williams pushed opposition goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, Tete was among the thick of it, with footage showing him to have his arm around the heads of first Williams and then Dominic Calvert-Lewin as the two sets of players grappled by the touchline in close proximity to both fans and photographers.
A spectator in the Gwladys Street, carrying his young son under his arm, was later jailed for assault for attacking Lyon players and while there was thankfully no repeat of the mayhem on this occasion, Tete once again found himself embroiled in a fracas.
Current captain James Tarkowski is the Blues bouncer these days and unhappy with some of the Fulham players’ antics as the hosts prepared to take a corner, he threw Tete to the ground and then grabbed Calvin Bassey by the neck, earning a yellow card from referee Andrew Madley for his troubles.
Rooney watches on among famous faces
Wayne Rooney, who has done a bit of boxing himself in his time, was back as an Everton player when they had their rumble with Lyon but wasn’t in the side that night, although he was back here to watch his beloved Blues.
Undeterred by the stick he got from elements of the home crowd when he tried to give a speech after the final game at Goodison Park, the now 40-year-old was in the West Stand with one of his sons.
Following the final whistle, the Croxteth-born star posted a photograph of the pair of them together with the caption 'Get in Everton' complete with a blue heart emoji to his almost half a million followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Sat in front of the Rooneys, it was also a family affair for Blues legend Peter Reid, sporting his stylish Fedora hat, watching alongside his brother Shaun, while Ashley Cole, who was a first-team coach at Everton under Frank Lampard and is now part of the England coaching set-up, was spotted too.
Ref justice
Everton players screamed at Madley to award Fulham’s Sasa Lukic a second yellow card when he hauled down Dewsbury-Hall late in the first half, but the referee was not interested. Marco Silva could see what was going on and like Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp with Ibrahima Konate when he escaped a sending off for a similar offence on Beto in a Merseyside Derby at Anfield, the Fulham manager hooked his player at the interval rather than risk him being given his marching orders.
You know it must have been bad when you’ve even got Mark Clattenburg admitting that the Blues were hard done by. The former County Durham official, caused uproar for his own Merseyside Derby display at Goodison Park in 2007, a horror show that was so bad that he wasn’t handed another assignment at the ground during Moyes’ first spell in charge and one that years later he admitted was all wrong, told Everton News: “Sasa Lukic was very fortunate not to receive a yellow card for bringing down Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall which stopped a promising attack. “This was a routine yellow card and certainly reached the higher threshold of the second yellow card that Premier League referees use when sending players off for a second yellow card. Interesting that VAR may be allowed from next season to recommend a review for a second yellow card.”
BeIN SPORTS pair Andy Gray and Richard Keys disagreed over the incident with the former Everton player claiming: “I don’t think it’s strong enough,” only for his colleague to respond: “By the letter of the law, it’s a booking. It bemuses me.”
In turn, former FIFA-listed referee Keith Hackett, who took charge of Everton’s 1-0 win over Liverpool at Wembley in the 1984 Charity Shield before replacing Philip Don as the general manager of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, told Goodison News: “That is a holding offence that should have been penalised with a yellow card. Keys is right on this one.”
Double delight for Armed Services
It was a poignant day at Hill Dickinson Stadium as ahead of Remembrance Sunday, those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country were honoured for the first time at Everton’s new home on the Mersey waterfront.
Bugler Sergeant Andy Manning played the Last Post before kick-off and he was joined by Army-Warrant Officer Class 1 Stephen McCann and RAF-Flight Sergeant Matthew Hollis, Peter McPartland of the Merchant Navy, flag bearers Kenneth Malam and Matthew Griffiths plus representatives from the Tri-Service Toffeess and ex-service personnel from Everton in the Community’s veterans’ initiative.
A more light-hearted element of the day was Army Lieutenant Colonel Barry Edwards and RAF Sergent Patrick Carroll both trying their luck in the Everton ‘Hit the Bar’ challenge. The pair of them both ended up triumphing in the competition in a rare double and heartily embraced each other in their moment of success.