Everton beat Brighton in first game at Hill Dickinson Stadium | OneFootball

Everton marked their first league outing at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with a dream start, seeing off Brighton & Hove Albion 2–0 on a memorable afternoon on Merseyside.

It was Iliman Ndiaye who wrote his name into the history books, tucking in Jack Grealish’s cross on 24 minutes to score the first ever goal at the Toffees’ new home.

The visitors had more than enough chances to spoil the party in the first half. Kaoru Mitoma rattled the bar, Danny Welbeck fluffed his lines with only Jordan Pickford to beat, and James Tarkowski almost handed Brighton an equaliser with a dreadful back-pass. Pickford spared his captain’s blushes, though, with a superb save to deny Matt O’Riley.

Shortly after the break, the Toffees had doubled their lead through James Garner, who lashed in a low drive from Grealish’s clever lay-off on 52 minutes.

With less than 15 minutes to play, the England goalkeeper was in inspired form throughout, later producing his eighth Premier League penalty stop to deny Welbeck after a handball call against Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

From there the hosts managed the game with a bit more control, substitutes Dwight McNeil and Beto helping to keep Brighton at arm’s length.

The final whistle was met with a roar that underlined just how significant the day felt: a new ground, three points, and a performance built on grit, quality and a fair slice of luck.