Everton match verdict after the friendly with AS Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Joe Thomas is the Everton FC correspondent for the Liverpool ECHO. He follows the Blues home and away, providing match reports, analysis and insight into events at Goodison Park, Finch Farm and beyond. Joe spent more than a decade covering news on Merseyside, working on award-winning investigations and extensively covering matters related to the Hillsborough tragedy - including the recent criminal prosecutions. Always grateful for tips and feedback, he can be contacted at joe.thomas@reachplc.com and on Twitter via @joe_thomas18
General view inside the stadium during the pre-season friendly match between Everton and AS Roma at Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 09, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Twelve months ago an intelligent, quick-footed new signing with socks halfway up his shins brought Everton supporters to their feet in the club’s final pre-season friendly.
Iliman Ndiaye made an immediate impression against Roma when he came on as a substitute to grace Goodison Park back then - a sign of the excitement that was to come.
Everton’s first senior match in front of supporters at the club’s stunning new stadium was a case of history being made. But it was also a sign of history repeating itself as an intelligent, quick-footed new signing again had Blues purring from the stands.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was on the pitch as Chelsea overcame Champions League winners Paris Saint Germain in the Club World Cup final at the start of the summer. He ended pre-season as the standout player on the freshly-laid turf at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The 26-year-old started as the most advanced of Everton’s central midfield three, slotting in behind fellow new signing Thierno Barry. He showed glimpses of quality all over the pitch - with his back to goal, carrying the ball forward and - in a sign of progress from last season that will delight David Moyes - from set pieces.
It was from a Dewsbury-Hall corner that Everton almost took an early lead, his inswinging effort landing on the head of James Tarkowski at the back post only for the centre back to loop his effort across goal. Moyes spent six months bemoaning the dead ball delivery proffered by his squad - at least until the return to fitness of specialist Dwight McNeil. Dewsbury-Hall offered an immediate solution to one of the big issues that plagued Moyes’ return.
Another major issue - one Everton have struggled with for some time - was the lack of creativity. Minutes after his corner almost led to a breakthrough, Dewsbury-Hall should have clinched what would have been assist number two when he received the ball from Idrissa Gueye, allowed to push forward with James Garner sitting deepest of the midfielders, and played Barry through on goal. The new striker, who also looked sharp, lost his footing as he shaped to suit.
Dewsbury-Hall continued to exert his influence on this match until he was withdrawn in the 60th minute. He darted forward to meet a ball over the top from Jarrad Branthwaite and broke into the Roma box before being crowded out by defenders, he sparked a stadium-wide tremor of applause as he burst forward and ran at the back four moments later then turned Mario Hermoso on the halfway line, spinning his man and sending Barry forward for the striker to force Mile Svilar into a good save from 25 yards.
Everton began the summer with a major squad rebuild that is still far from complete. But in Dewsbury-Hall, the fifth signing to date, Moyes appears to have significantly upgraded his starting eleven in several key areas.
The challenge now is to build around him and those other players - like Ndiaye - who have the potential to carry Everton into the top half of the table. Barry was a handful in his hour on the pitch, throwing his body on the line to win free-kicks, holding the ball up in wide areas and using his pace to break beyond the last man. In having him as cover and competition for Beto, Everton have the option to refresh their attack in matches without having to redraw their game plan.
They were not the only positives - it was a significant boost to see first choice centre back pairing Tarkowski and Branthwaite together for the first time this summer. Tarkowski tired as the game went on, but his early return from the hamstring injury he suffered in April is an unexpected boost. Jordan Pickford made an important save from Neil El Aynaoui in the second half, though had to rely on the crossbar when Angelino thundered a long-range effort against the woodwork on half-time. Garner, who impressed in the same role against Manchester United earlier this month, appears to be growing in stature as a defensive midfielder.
There is, clearly, work to do, however. Everton are yet to sign a right winger this summer - despite efforts that have so far taken in Francisco Conceicao, Johan Bakayoko and Tyler Dibling. Carlos Alcaraz started in that role and Ndiaye ended the first half there. Until 20-year-old Isaac Heath is no longer the most senior specialist right wing option at the club, Everton will lack balance and threat on that side of the pitch.
That was painfully clear in the second half, when Dwight McNeil’s introduction was followed by makeshift right back Jake O’Brien often becoming the most advanced on that side of the pitch, McNeil instead holding back in the hope of being able to swing the ball in from deep with his left foot.
The squad still needs depth too. The sight of Vitalii Mykolenko limping off after 10 minutes was a serious concern. Moyes could at least call on Adam Aznou, the exciting teenager signed from Bayern Munich. Before Aznou’s arrival last month, the departure of Ashley Young meant there was no cover for Mykolenko at all. But the 19-year-old is inexperienced and was later replaced by Seamus Coleman - hinting at how Moyes could line-up at Leeds United should the Ukraine international be unavailable.
Moyes could at least come close to naming nine substitutes with senior top flight minutes but there is a need - and an expectation - his hand will be strengthened this month.
This match changed on the hour when Dewsbury-Hall and Barry were sacrificed amid a swathe of replacements. Everton became more ragged and Roma took advantage - Matias Soule cutting inside from the Blues left and finishing past Pickford. It should have been more - Hermoso sending a free header into a crowd of bodies when he met a corner. Daniele Ghilardi should have scored from the rebound but lashed his back post effort high and wide via the desperate lunge of a Royal Blue leg. Niccola Pisilli shot well wide when he had time to add his name to the first goalscorers at the new stadium in stoppage time.
The sight of rivals strengthening for the final half an hour while Everton have to hold on with limited support from a threadbare bench has been a theme of the recent seasons of struggle. Everton are no longer bound by the financial and regulatory constraints that led to that paucity of options. They are finding out the hard way that addressing it is not easy - everyone at the club expects to be busy right up until the final days of the transfer window as a result.
Only so much of the occasion was about the football, of course. Everton’s new home looked every bit as wonderful as hoped and the sound of There She Goes reverberating around a full house minutes before kick-off was spine tingling.
The club has a home fit for champions. The task now is to build a squad befitting of the newest landmark on Liverpool’s famous waterfront.