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Friday’s Merseyside derby in the Women’s Super League marks the first time Everton have hosted Liverpool at Goodison Park – and the club’s attendance record looks certain to be broken.
It will be the first time Everton women have played at Goodison Park since the opening day of the 2021-22 season, when they were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in front of 5,998 fans. The game on Friday evening is expected to attract quadruple that number of supporters.
“Just knowing we sold so many tickets is amazing, so exciting,” Everton defender Rikke Sevecke told BBC Sport. “It’s always a great experience playing at Goodison, it’s a big difference playing here rather than at Walton Hall Park.
“When we play away, we might only have five or 10 fans, but you can really hear them. Just imagine if that’s 10,000. They are the 12th woman.”
Their Women’s Premier League title-winning side of 1997-98 will be the special guests at the ground, with this season marking the 25th anniversary of Everton Ladies’ title win.
The Merseyside derby will also kick off Women’s Football Weekend, as the WSL looks to capitalise on a weekend without Premier League football to boost its attendances and profile.
For Everton, it represents a huge visibility boost compared with their usual home of Walton Hall Park, which has a capacity of 2,200, and Toffees forward Katja Snoeijs says it is an opportunity they must grab with both hands.
“You look at the history of Everton, a huge club here in England, playing at a stadium with this history is something you have to enjoy. Especially now the stadium won’t be here much longer,” she told BBC Sport, referring to the club’s move to Bramley-Moore Dock, planned for the start of the 2024-25 season.
“It really has [had an impact]. Everyone wants to start and play that game, you can feel that on everyone, we all want to contribute,” added forward Nico Sorensen.
“We have some girls from Liverpool, and quite a lot of us have been here for a while, we know what it means for Evertonians. It’s a massive game, and it’s my first Merseyside derby – I was still injured [for the last game], I was hoping to be back but it was a little too early. So I’m so excited.”
‘That game, it all came together’
The last game in question came in September, when Liverpool hosted Everton at Anfield to mark the Reds’ return to the WSL following promotion – however, the celebrations were roundly spoiled by their neighbours, who earned a 3-0 victory.
That win was key for Everton’s confidence this season, after their nightmarish 2021-22 campaign in which they went through three managers and narrowly avoided relegation.
Under new manager Brian Sorensen, Everton this season are comfortably mid-table, sitting sixth and 13 points above the WSL relegation spot.
Snoeijs says: “It was a really important game, at the beginning of the season we were struggling for results, confidence was coming as we were working on our identity. That game, it all came together.
“Of course a win against Liverpool against Anfield gives you confidence, but it was not just the win, it was the way we played, we dominated that game. It showed us that if we keep working on the things we want to work on, we can get good results.”
‘We want people to come back’
While there is a good feeling around Everton, the build-up to this Friday’s game saw criticism from some supporters over the decision to reschedule the match just over a week after announcing it would be held at Goodison Park.
The club had announced on 6 February the match would be held on Sunday, 26 March, but 11 days later it was moved to an evening kick-off on the Friday to be shown on TV.
At the time Everton Women Official Supporters Club (EWOSC) said the move was “to the detriment of match-going supporters” and could mean thousands of fans could no longer attend.
Everton have not played at Goodison for nearly two years, and not since England won the Euros, while other WSL sides have played at the men’s stadiums more frequently in front of significant crowds.
But EWOSC secretary Peter McFarlane says it is important the right games are picked for Goodison Park in order to draw in the fans.
He told BBC Sport: “We’ve got to acknowledge that we’ve been trying to make Walton Hall Park our own – we just had one game at Goodison Park before lockdown.
“You have to be careful what type of game you host, against Manchester City we lost 4-0. We want to try and encourage people to come back.
“I know there are reasons for the delay, and I would have thought there would have been one earlier this season, but the Merseyside derby is such a good occasion for a big crowd and a good performance.
“In terms of the bounce, we have had record attendances at Walton Hall Park.
“As a supporters’ club, it is about concentrating on that core support – we have seen a change in atmosphere, the connection with players, we are seeing regular new faces which is fantastic, people bringing kids, it is a special atmosphere.”
Snoeijs says the long wait to play at Goodison Park “is not something we as players can control, we are just happy the opportunity is here now”.
And the opportunity has seen the players, particularly those from Liverpool, beginning to get revved up.
“Toni Duggan is a real scouser who is getting us ready for this game, and also the game at Anfield,” says Snoeijs. “We know how important it is for the club.”
