Everton manager David Moyes admits the team has a lot of work to do after they lost 1-0 to AS Roma in the final pre-season friendly. It was a historic day for the Blues, who played in front of 50,837 fans at the new waterfront stadium for the first time.
Matias Soule’s 70th-minute strike turned out to be the difference between the two sides, while James Tarkowski, Iliman Ndiaye and Thierno Barry were guilty of squandering chances.
However, any analysis of the on-field action takes a back seat to the magnitude of the occasion. It was a day that was years in the making and after 133 years, fans and players of the club have found a new home.
“I think it does [feel like home]. It’s going to take a bit of us getting used to it completely but it’s a great stadium and hopefully it’s a chance to see some really good players and good teams in the future,” said Moyes.
“It’s brilliant for the football club. For my journey as well – I’ve had lots of different twists and turns – but overall I think the football club has been so desperate for this situation to arise with the new stadium. I think it’s a wonderful stadium, it’s a step up, certainly, from Goodison and I think for Everton Football Club it’s a real positive step.”
When asked about his thoughts on the game, the 62-year-old admitted that there are issues that need to be solved before the Premier League season opener against Leeds United in just over a week. “We’ve got a lot to do, haven’t we?”
“First half I thought we were OK, I didn’t think we played so well in the second half. Roma were better in the second half. We missed a couple of opportunities to get in front but didn’t take them. The first half was OK, the second half we weren’t so good.”
Everton made a series of changes at the hour mark, which saw them losing control of the game. The drop in quality coincided with the substitution of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
The left-footed midfielder, recently signed from Chelsea, was a standout on his Everton debut and was impressive at pulling strings in the middle of the pitch.
“I thought Kiernan did well,” said Moyes. “I thought he gave us some quality and you could see the difference in his levels with some of the things he did, which were very good, so I’m really pleased with that part. I think Barry had moments as well.”
The Blues have been goal-shy throughout the pre-season. Moyes’ side has scored just six goals in seven friendly games over the last month and a lack of creativity has been an issue.
“We’ve been lacking it [creativity] for most of the pre-season to score enough goals and make enough goals. So, we did do last season, we scored a lot of goals in the second half of the season. Hopefully, we’re keeping up for the start of the season.”