Everton draw with Ipswich in last Saturday afternoon game at Goodison Park
By Carl Markham, PA
Everton bid farewell to Saturday afternoons at Goodison Park with a deflating 2-2 draw against relegated Ipswich, which showcased two brilliant goals befitting the stature of the occasion.
Unfortunately for David Moyes’ side, one of those was a 30-yard screamer from the visitors’ Julio Enciso, but it came after a Beto header and a swerving Dwight McNeil effort had put the Toffees in front.
However, George Hirst’s 79th-minute equaliser was not in the script.
This was the final traditional 3pm kick-off in 133 years of football at the famous old ground – the emotional goodbye against Southampton in a fortnight is a Sunday noon start – before next season’s move to Bramley-Moore Dock.
The teams were welcomed by ticker tape cascading down from the top tier of the Main Stand.
That glitz were replicated in the scoring by two teams with nothing but pride to play for as McNeil’s wickedly struck first goal since September after a lengthy injury on his 100th Everton appearance was surpassed by Ensico’s superb drive.
That at least gave the Ipswich fans something to talk about on their 250-mile journey home after avoiding a 22nd defeat of the season.
The pre-match party in the stands, resplendent with banners and flags recalling some of Goodison’s long history, was given a fillip when Beto flicked home Charly Alcaraz’s 26th-minute inswinging cross.
He was afforded too much room by his opponents in both picking up Idrissa Gueye’s knockdown and then ghosting in between the two centre-backs to register his ninth of the campaign and first for two months.
Ipswich’s inability to fill space in front of their penalty area cost them again when McNeil cut in from the right and unleashed a vicious shot to wrongfoot Alex Palmer, who fell into the net as the ball flew past him.
The celebrations were abruptly silenced just before half-time when Enciso, who easily slipped past Gueye – 14 years his senior – unleashed a sweetly struck shot which brushed the underside of the crossbar on its way past Jordan Pickford.
On Friday, Moyes had spoken of his interest in Ipswich’s in-demand striker Liam Delap but the England Under-21 international, replaced after 67 minutes, did not endear himself to Everton fans with his physical approach being booed on a couple of occasions.
While the Everton manager’s hopes of being able to sign Delap seem remote at this stage, he is looking to the future with his team comfortably 13th.
He has 14 players out of contract, either permanently or on loan, in the summer and two of those – injury-plagued striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in his first appearance since January and Leeds’ winger Jack Harrison – were given 15 minutes to impress.
Before either could touch the ball Hirst outjumped Jack O’Brien to plant a downward header past Pickford.