Tucked

One final visit to Goodison Park. Probably.* 

Tucked up under the roof of the Upper Bullens, a few yards away from the visiting Arsenal fans. A great view of the pitch,** but not so much of the other stands, except at the end of the game when I climbed down to the front of the balcony for a selfie (extra).

It had been an early start from home for a 12:30 kick-off. Early enough to avoid the worst of the crowds travelling to the Grand National (Aintree being a few stops further up the train line), and also to give myself 90 minutes to walk around the ground, visit the memorabilia stalls upstairs  at St. Lukes, and mooch around the neighbouring Stanley Park for a ‘going to the match’ image (extra).

The match wasn’t a classic, we were clearly showing the effects of having played a derby game on Wednesday night while Arsenal have their eyes on a Champions League game in the week. A first half goal for the visitors, and for a while it looked like they might run away with the game. A successfully converted penalty for the Blues at the start of the second half drew things level, and for the remainder of the game Everton did what we currently do, defended well without creating much threat ourselves. 1-1 final score.

The pre-match banner display is always a highlight,  even from a partial view (main image).



* There are still three home games left, and if the opportunity presents… And, the ground may now be redeveloped as a stadium for Everton Women. 
** Only one fairly distant pillar obscuring one corner flag. In Goodison terms this is a win :-)