Everton gave Goodison Park a fitting farewell after Iliman Ndiaye scored twice to give the home side a 2-0 victory over already-relegated Southampton on Sunday as the “Grand Old Lady” hosted its final Premier League game after 133 years.
Everton’s win in their penultimate match of the season — but last game at Goodison before moving to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock — left David Moyes’ side 13th on 45 points. Bottom-placed Southampton have 12 points from 37 games.
Tears and cheers greeted Everton’s team introductions to the “Z-Cars” anthem on an emotional afternoon and Ndiaye sparked bedlam after six minutes as he took the ball on the half-turn before driving towards goal and curling a shot into the net.
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The 25-year-old completed his double in first-half injury time when Dwight McNeil played a ball through two defenders and Ndiaye beat goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with a dummy and then tapped into the empty net.
Ndiaye had said in a pregame interview that he was motivated by the words of his daughter, saying he could become the last Everton men’s player to score a goal at Goodison.
“It’s very special [to be the last one],” Ndiaye said, with the game ball tucked under one arm. “It means a lot and I wanted to score a hat trick. Since the day I came in they have been great, I wanted to give them a win today.
“The roar [after the first goal] was amazing. It’s an amazing day. They deserve it,” he added.
With Tim Cahill, Wayne Rooney, Duncan Ferguson and dozens of other Everton greats watching, the hosts ran roughshod over Southampton, who did little to spoil the party.
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The win was Everton’s 17th over Saints at Goodison, making them Everton’s favourite home Premier League opponents.
The scoreline could have been more lopsided as Beto had two goals given offside four minutes apart in the first half.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was forced to make a save late on to deny substitute Cameron Archer and ensure the final goal scored was not a Saints one.
Sunday capped an emotional run-up that many Everton fans had been dreading and the stadium’s finale — Game 2,791 — certainly did not fail to deliver one more to remember.
Thousands of supporters showed up well before the team’s bus arrived at the ground, with dense blue smoke filling the narrow terraced streets. Even fans without tickets turned out to be part of history, the end of an era.
Supporters belted out “Everton, you never shone so brightly!”
“The last game at Goodison will take some time to soak in,” Pickford said. “We would have liked to score four or five. We will go down in history as the last team to win at Goodison. That’s what the manager asked of us today.
“The fans have been brilliant.”
Everton announced earlier this week that their women’s team, who play in the Women’s Super League, would make a permanent move to Goodison, beginning next season.
