**Everton’s first season at Hill Dickinson Stadium ended in defeat to Sunderland.**
Merlin Rohl broke the deadlock shortly before the half-time interval as his low shot took a deflection off Granit Xhaka to wrongfoot goalkeeper Robin Roefs.
But the visitors were able to pull level on the hour mark after a mistake by Jake O’Brien allowed Brian Brobbey to run clear and fire home an equaliser.
The Black Cats took the lead in the final nine minutes when Enzo Le Fee was allowed to slot home from close range after being teed up by Chris Rigg.
Wilson Isidor added insult to injury for the Blues in added time as he rifled in unmarked at the far post after Seamus Coleman failed to pick him up.
David Moyes’ side dropped down to 11th in the Premier League table and lost further ground in the battle for a final European qualification position.
_Here were the key talking points from Hill Dickinson Stadium:_
Coleman gets undignified send-off
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Seamus Coleman deserved far better than this as Everton captain.
Just days after [announcing that this season would be his last in a royal blue shirt](https://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/everton-fc/65396-seamus-coleman-calls-time-on-everton-career/), the right-back should have received a send-off befitting of his service.
Through good times and bad, the Republic of Ireland international has been a lone standard-bearer for large parts of his 17-and-a-half years on Merseyside.
Yet Coleman received the most unedifying send-off in front of his own fans.
The manner of Everton’s eight home league defeat proved too much for many supporters to take, as vast swathes of empty seats before full-time attested.
A sparse crowd was further thinned out by the Blues prolonging the process with a 25-minute delay before Coleman was given a muted guard of honour.
For a player who has been through hell and high water with them, the 37-year-old knows better than most that the club’s path has never run smooth.
Still, Everton’s record appearance holder in the Premier League era should have received a finer farewell than the one he was ultimately afforded.
Blues still not learning lessons
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Everton’s maiden season at Hill Dickinson Stadium has been one of learning lessons but it’s clear some are still proving more difficult to heed than others.
Their [FA Cup third round exit at the hands of Sunderland](https://www.clickliverpool.com/sport/everton-fc/62708-everton-1-1-sunderland-0-3-pens-three-talking-points-beto-thierno-barry-adam-aznou/) is a classic case in point; having bowed out with barely a whimper against Sunday’s opponents.
That January meeting became notable for the sacrilegious act of the hosts wearing their ‘fourth’ kit which was matched by an equally appalling display.
In truth, David Moyes’ side were lucky to take the tie down to a penalties and, similarly, heading in at the break of this encounter with their slender lead.
Merlin Rohl’s fortuitious opener could not mask the fact this display did not scream of a side still with aspirations of sealing a European qualification spot.
Complacency has crept in too easily and reared its head again in the closing stages as the visitors racked up a commanding, and reflective, score line.
This is exactly why the continental trail has run cold for Everton in the two months since they emphatically put a struggling Chelsea to the sword here.
Moyes and his players already know their downfall was entirely self-inflicted.
Summer must see end of stopgaps
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Angus Kinnear’s programme notes surmised this season as one where Everton had been ‘happily dissatisfied’ with their on-field progress.
The CEO believed still being mathematically in the hunt for Europe with two games remaining constituted marked progress without tangible achievement.
He also described plans to revolutionise the squad as a ‘two-summer window plan’ to ensure the club was in a position to better challenge next season.
As attention turns to the upcoming transfer market, owners The Friedkin Group saw that task fully laid bare in this meek surrender to the Black Cats.
Jake O’Brien’s limitations as an auxiliary right-back were shown up again by his role in the equaliser, coming just minutes after he struggled with a knock.
The position has been a problematic one since a variety of injury problems gradually phased the outgoing Coleman away from his preferred role.
Moyes’ reticence to send on a more natural alternative in Nathan Patterson as O’Brien’s replacement, however, hinted at a mistrust in his current ranks.
If this summer is to be one where Everton do round off their squad, plugging the gaps must be a priority rather than deploying further stopgap solutions.