Amid the excitement and anticipation, there was tension and apprehension. How could there not be? The big days, unfortunately, have been the ones of late when Everton have fallen short.
August 24 is huge in Everton’s history, as it was when Goodison Park opened its doors in 1892 but it’s also a date that reminds the club of what could have been: this was the 20th anniversary of a robbery in Villarreal, Pierluigi Collina’s preposterous refereeing scuppering Champions League dreams.
For two decades, it has felt like there has been a curse. In the moments when an Everton win would have brought unbridled happiness – an FA Cup Final (2009), two semi-finals (2012 and 2016), a pair of League Cup semi-finals (2008 and 2016) – something has tended to go wrong.
You could feel the scarring. On the trains carrying this pilgrimage out on trains to what these fans proudly call the ‘banks of a Royal Blue Mersey’, conversations were as line-ups were scrutinised and debated. After last Monday’s sobering night at Elland Road, a miserable 1-0 defeat to Leeds, nerves were to be expected.
They need not have feared. August 24 provided the potential for Everton to start writing new chapters, in the quite magnificent Hill Dickinson Stadium, and how wonderfully this team seized its moment – and how they made their people happy.
Here was an occasion Evertonians will remember for all the right reasons, a blue-and-white explosion of joy. Those who came in their droves would have hoped for three things: a win, a clean sheet and a new star to be born. Tick, tick, tick.
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Everton claimed a 2-0 victory against Brighton in their first home match of the season
The Toffees opened a new chapter in the quite magnificent Hill Dickinson Stadium with victory
Iliman Ndiaye wrote himself in the history books by scoring the first goal at the new stadium
Of course, Fabian Hurzeler, Brighton’s head coach whose glacial stare could have frozen a sauna, harrumphed about the chances his side squandered during a fraught opening 20 minutes but, really, it was background noise. It was Everton’s day and it was nonsense to argue otherwise.
What mattered was seeing Jack Grealish show why he can be the hero Evertonians have been aching for, his dancing feet and shimmying from the left flank generating a snap and crackle around the stadium that eventually made Brighton go pop.
Hurtzeler grumbled that Everton’s opening goal ‘came out of nowhere’ but that’s why David Moyes wanted to sign Grealish, so he could be the man to change the mood and change games; this occasion was never going to fluster a Champions League winner and how he relished centre stage.
You knew a love affair was starting after two minutes when Grealish, having initially lost possession to Mats Wieffer, scampered to rob the Dutch full-back and keep his team on the attack. If Evertonians see a player working for them, they’ll provide unwavering support and the union was sealed here.
Yes, there were a couple of scares shortly after – not least when Danny Welbeck somehow scooped a shot from six yards over the bar following super play from Yankuba Minteh – but it was all banished in the 23rd minute when Grealish was invited to surge forward.
When he is confident, it is a pleasure to watch him live. He’s the kind of footballer who does the hardest thing in the game – excite his team-mates – and here all the belief was flooding back, taunting Wieffer with a matador’s conviction, twisting him, teasing him then killing him.
What a cross Grealish provided for Illiam Ndiaye to dispatch at the back post and what a moment it was for him, given he had scored the last two goals in Goodison’s history against Southampton, but he immediately recognised the role his new colleague had played.
‘I think the boy who played for Manchester City when they won the Treble is a really exciting player,’ said Moyes. ‘I hope that we get him back. The fans want to see it. And, hey, his manager wants to see that. He is game for it here and never shirked anything. He feels he’s got something to prove.’
Ndiaye finished off a cross from Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish inside 23 minutes
James Garner doubled Everton’s lead with a thumping strike seven minutes after the break
David Moyes is hopeful that Grealish will rediscover his best form this season
Moyes, who is hopeful of completing a deal for Southampton’s Tyler Dibling in the coming days, wants to give Grealish a platform that gets him back into England contention but, just as much, he is determined for him to be central to Everton’s renaissance.
Everyone knows this is going to be a long process – Moyes knows that better than anyone – but, after the deadlock was broken (‘ladies and gentlemen, you have just witnessed history!’ the stadium announcer proclaimed) all anyone wants to see are green shoots of recovery sprouting.
The more you looked, the more visible they became. There was Jordan Pickford plunging to thwart Matt O’Reilly then save a Danny Welbeck penalty – it’s remarkable how his position as England’s number one is continually questioned – and there was James Garner flourishing with endeavour.
Garner is every inch a Moyes player and it felt fitting that he provided the goal – after a pass from Grealish that doubled his amount of Premier League assists from last season in 52 minutes – that provided joyous pandemonium, his shot zipping into the net in front of the vertiginous South Stand.
What followed from there was something different: a chance to enjoy the conclusion, no worries about fightbacks or letting things slip. Yes, Danny Welbeck pitifully missed Brighton’s penalty in the 75th minute but it was an anomaly.
‘We are trying to find a way to move the club on; this is a big step for Everton Football Club,’ said Moyes. ‘The work we need to do now is start the building of a strong team. I don’t know if we can get it done immediately but we will fight to get the building blocks down to move the club forward.’
And the first step was done with purpose. Let this be the start of something good.