Everton's men's team will now not play another game at Goodison Park again
They will move to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock ahead of next year
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By IAN HERBERT
Published: 08:55 EDT, 18 May 2025 | Updated: 09:47 EDT, 18 May 2025
An azure sky for a blue, blue day and amid the flares, the fireworks and the fervour, there was an unmistakeable sense of loss for many, as Goodison Park drew down its blinds.
'Goodbye. Thankyou for your custom over the years', stated the banner above the tea hut on Gwladys Street run by Eddie and Elaine, for whom life will not be quite the same. The bustling upstairs room at St Luke's Church, where the matchday programme and memorabilia sale has become its own community, will fall quiet now.
The prevailing mood for the stadium's last competitive men's game was triumphal, though, because for a very long time it seemed that this stadium might be needed for a yet another Premier League survival support act, when Southampton's visit came round.
David Moyes has delivered, so it was without jeopardy that they could hang up the blue and white bunting on redbrick Oxton Road, remember beloved fans who had never lived to see this day and, 15 minutes before kick-off, deliver a rendition of 'The Spirit of the Blues' anthem, the likes of which we have never heard. 'We never shone so brightly' runs one of its lyrics. And some.
They squeezed into Goodison Road, where the blue mist flares drifted on the faintest early morning breeze, which was so unpassable that the team coach deposited the players on Bullens Road instead.
How very 'Everton' it would be, to lose to the Premier League's bottom team, a few among the masses reflected. Southampton had already beaten them this season, in the league and Carabao Cup.
Everton bid an emotional farewell to Goodison Park as they played at the ground for the final time on Sunday
Thousands of Everton supporters gathered both inside and outside the ground to say goodbye
Iliman Ndiaye scored both goals as the Toffees cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win on the day
But there was no meaningful opposition to send clouds across Everton's peerless sky. Southampton brought such an aimless passing game that their own fans were chanting 'olay' to every pointless ball by half-time.
Moyes was made a far greater contribution, by giving 36-year-old Seamus Coleman, the heartbeat of the club and its longest-serving player, the nominal captaincy. The Irishman ran out to the biggest reception of all and left, injured, after 18 minutes to equally huge acclaim. Moyes has shrewdly asked him to stay on.
You didn't need to be playing here to be remembered, though. There were reprises of age-old chants about Kevin Ratcliffe, Kevin Campbell, Tony Hibbert, Barry Horne and Yakubu Aiyegbeni: 'Feed the Yak.' It was gratifying to see Graeme Sharp, restored to the club after exile, in the stands. So, too, Wayne Rooney, forgiven now for leaving.
Everton were two goals to the good by the interval, courtesy of the beautiful talent of Iliman Ndiaye, who took on Jarrad Branthwaite's low pass to despatch the first after barely five minutes. His rapid reaction time took him around Aaron Ramsdale for the second.
It meant that Goodison had to find its own way of manufacturing the raw and partisan spirit which has helped this team through huge challenges down the years.
Departing players were cheered to the rafters as Moyes made his substitutions. Random renditions of Z Cars and 'It's a Grand Old Team' broke out of temporary moments of silence.
The onlookers included supporters who had not even imagined they would be here. In one of the day's random acts of kindness, an American pressed an envelope into the hands of Dave Kelly, who for years has helped run the foodbank at the top of Goodison Road. Two precious tickets for this game were tucked inside.
It was Kelly who led the fight against Everton's move to Kirkby a decade back. Without him, the long-anticipated move to a stadium by the banks of the Mersey would not be happening.
There were reprises of age-old chants about Kevin Ratcliffe, Kevin Campbell, Tony Hibbert, Barry Horne and Yakubu Aiyegbeni
The onlookers included supporters who had not even imagined they would be here
It was too much for some fans inside the ground
Television cameras caught some breaking down into tears
David Moyes has played his part, ensuring Everton will be a Premier League club when they move grounds
And so off the supporters will go, to Bramley-Moore Dock, in a bit to write more history
MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS
Everton (4-2-3-1) Pickford 6.5; Coleman 5 (Young 18 6), O’Brien 6, Branthwaite 7 (Keane 74 6), Myolenko 6; Garner 6.5, Gueye 6; McNeil 6.5 (Harrison 65 6), Doucoure 7 (Alcaraz 65 6.5), Ndiaye 8.5 (Calvert-Lewin 75, 6); Beto 5
Subs not used: Calvert-Lewin, Iroegbunam, Kane, Virginia, Patterson, Cheremiti
Booked: Garner
Scorer: Ndiaye (6, 45 +2)
Manager: D Moyes 7
Southampton (3-4-2-1) Ramsdale 6.5; Harwood-Bellis 5 (Sanda 82, 6), Wood-Gordon 6.5 (Archer 60 6), Stephens 5.5; Bree 5, Downes 5.5, Aribo 6 (Smallbone 60 5.5), Welington 6; Dibling 5.5 (Robinson 67 6), Mateus Fernandes 6.5; Sulemana 5 (Stewart 60)
Subs not used: Maning, McCarthy, Sugawara, Ugachukwu
Booked: Downes
Manager: S Rusk 6
Referee: M Oliver 7
Attendance: 39,201
After the sentiment, comes the hard part. Building Everton into a force befitting their new stadium, who don't just survive but thrive. Moyes says it could take three transfer windows to rebuild. Ipswich Town's Liam Delap and Brighton's Evan Ferguson may come into the calculation. Chelsea's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Burnley's Maxime Estève would meet a wish to bring the squad age down.
The lyrics of 'Spirit of the Blues', being belted out again at the end, tell: 'We're on the move, we've got something to prove. So get your coat on and get moving., We don't know the meaning of losing.' The world beyond Goodison won't be easy, but, as so often before, Everton have given themselves a chance.