Scott Phelan has said Everton are embracing making Goodison Park a fortress after beating Newcastle United in the Subway Players Cup.
Ornella Vignola’s second-half brace earned Everton a 2-0 win over the WSL 2 leaders on Wednesday night, extending the Blues’ recent good form. The Spaniard scored twice after the break, following a frustrating first half for the hosts. The win leaves Everton in a strong position to qualify for the knockout rounds, after beating Birmingham City in the opening fixture.
“We got there in the end. We huffed and puffed a little bit, not always easy when the opponent wants to play a little bit lower and deny the spaces that you want to play in,” Phelan reflected to evertonfc.com.
“We spoke about certain things at half-time, where we can improve the speed of play and the two goals were good examples of them. Especially the second one, a little bit of combination down the outside with Clare’s quality and a second finish for Ornella after a first really good goal. So yeah, we’re happy. The objective was two out of two in the cup and continue with some positivity and momentum.”
The win marked a fifth consecutive home win for Everton in all competitions, and Phelan has been delighted with that form. He said Everton wanted to embrace the experience of moving to Goodison Park, following the men’s move to Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2025. He believes his side have made the ground a fortress.
“It’s nice. I think we spoke when we first came in about enjoying Goodison as an experience, but there’s no better way than winning games. The girls have been able to do that more often than not which is really good. Hopefully they can continue that, and that starts on Sunday.”
Read more – ToffeeWeb Talk: Reaction to the Chelsea defeat and the next test at Arsenal – Episode 10