Hill Dickinson Stadium

Everton 2-0 Mansfield Town

27th August 2025

This was only the second competitive match at Everton's new ground.  I really liked the look of the stadium, but goodness me, the surrounding area isn't half grim.  This dockland area of North Liverpool would have been a bustling hub back in the day, I am sure.  But today most of the buildings are neglected naked red brickwork, many looking like a stiff breeze would bring them down.  I assume someone is hoping the presence of Everton FC is going to kick start some social and industrial regeneration of the district.  

I will not hold my breath.

Along Regent Road towards the stadium.

I recall when I made my only (so far) trip to Mansfield Town's ground back in 2017, that the ticket office being closed over Easter Holidays had prevented hundreds of fans picking up their tickets pre-match.  With the result I, and many others, missed the first 20 minutes of the game queueing.

And, feck me, did I not turn up at the shiny new Hill Dickinson Stadium this evening to encounter a similar issue.  I learned that, as all of the Mansfield Ticket Office staff had wanted to attend this game, the club had closed their ticket office at 2pm.  So all those folks who would have picked up their already purchased ticket from Field Mill in the afternoon, had instead to pick up in Liverpool.  

Thus it was, a whopping queue faced such bods (me included) upon arrival at Hill Dickinson.  Progress was so slow (how hard can it be to hand out envelopes?), that the kick-off was first delayed for 15 minutes, and then tickets were just randomly handed out to folks in the queue.  50 minutes, I waited in line, and missed the first ten minutes of the match.

That great big feckin' queue.

A markedly improved second-half performance allowed Everton to safely negotiate this Carabao Cup Second Round tie.

League One Mansfield Town certainly matched their top flight hosts in the first-half, I felt, even enjoying lengthy spells of possession without, it has to be said, creating anything terribly much.

Everton took the lead six minutes after the restart through Charly ALCAREZ, one of the few players who had shown any quality during a dull first half.  

On the hour, David Moyes replaced one lanky ineffectual forward (Thierno Barry) with another (BETO); the latter tapping-in late on to make it 2-0. 

Mansfield's did manage two efforts on target in the second half.  First Everton's James Tarkowski headed Luke Bolton's strike over the bar.  Then Regan Hendry found space in the box, immediately after Beto's score, but the Scottish Youth Internationalist slightly mishit his far post attempt, and it was blocked and cleared by a home defender.

6,000 Mansfield fans made the trip.

Regan Hendry (Mansfield town) & James Garner.

   

Across the road from the stadium, a large number of fans of both persuasions watched with increasing glee the Grimsby v Manchester United penalty shoot out.