EVERTON said goodbye to Goodison Park in style with a 2-0 Premier League win over Southampton thanks to a double for Iliman Ndiaye on an emotional Sunday in Merseyside.
Home of the Toffees since 1892, Goodison will play host to Everton’s women from next season as the men move to a new 52,000 capacity stadium.
Legends of Everton’s past, including former England captain Wayne Rooney, watched on impressed as Ndiaye produced two fine first-half finishes to ensure there was a happy ending for the home fans.
The business on the pitch was a sideshow with already-relegated Saints providing the perfect opposition for a glorious goodbye.
Sun-kissed streets around the ground were covered in acrid blue smoke hours before the noon kick-off as thousands of Everton fans even without tickets made the pilgrimage for a final time.
The Toffees have not won a major trophy for the past 30 years.
But Goodison was the scene of the club’s bygone glory years.
Only four clubs have won more English top-flight titles than Everton’s nine.
There is hope that the move to a new state-of-the-art stadium in Liverpool’s docklands, allied to new ownership under the US-based Friedkin Group, can help restore good times on the field after seasons of battling relegation.
“It will be sad when it goes, but we’re moving into something which we think will give us a bigger and better future,“ said Everton manager David Moyes.
Mired in financial troubles, Everton have had to fight for survival in recent seasons to maintain an unbroken 71-year stay among the elite.
If there is to be a brighter future next season, Ndiaye is likely to be at the heart of it.
The 25-year-old Senegalese international has proved a much-needed spark in his debut season for a side lacking a potent striker.
Southampton had frustrated Manchester City in a 0-0 draw last weekend to ensure they will not end the season as the worst side in Premier League history.
However, they were undone just six minutes in as Ndiaye curled into the bottom corner to make sure there would be no spoiling the Everton party.
Beto found the net twice more but on both occasions had strayed offside before finishing off fine team moves.
Ndiaye’s quick feet did double the advantage for Moyes’ men just before the break as he rounded Aaron Ramsdale and slotted in his 11th goal of the season.
The second half of Everton’s 2791th game at Goodison will be quickly forgotten.
But the memories of a stadium referred to locally as the “Grand Old Lady” will live on for generations of supporters.
