Everton 0 - AS ROMA 1: Day one Blues as Everton lose and the stadium opens. But then Grealish signs!

Mixed emotions from Blues fans following the opening of HDS to an almost full house. Not the best result but a solid first half performance from Barry, KDH, Charlie and Ndiaye gave us a lot to look forward to. The changes at half time had the expected negative impact and we were soon on the back foot to a lively Roma set up. The goal came as predicted by many and whilst it was a nice shot the defending was woeful. Full backs are needed for sure, but it’s unlikely they’ll materialize. We’re going to have to persevere with O’Brien and Mykolenko and that mess we will concede regularly.

“I've had some really nice messages since I've got here, and that means a lot to me and my family."

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the warm welcome from Evertonians and getting his first minutes of pre-season. 💙

— Everton (@Everton) August 10, 2025

Aznou came in very early on for the injured Mykolenko, but struggled to settle. Looking rather nervy and unaware of his positioning it was a baptism of fire for the young lad and he has a lot to learn. O’Brien at right back had a good first half but was often over run at the back whenever Roma advanced down the right. Gaping holes at the back were advertising what was to come, well before it did. A disappointing result with another blank scoreline. Everton need to get some early goals in the early games or we will for sure slip into the annual relegation battle before end of September.

The Grealish news however will soften the blow as this is an enormous addition to the fold, and will have all the Blues fans eagerly anticipating Grealish on the ball.

The new stadium felt terrific once we were safely into our seats, however the admin was appalling. Long queues for everything including the toilets before KO and at halftime. Entrance queues too were pretty frustrating. Fans sitting in the north stand had a nightmare and I was very glad I hadn’t opted for seats in that zone. Things need to improve every quickly on that front.

Many thanks to Salah too for brightening our afternoon with his comedy penalty yesterday.

Lots of positives and the new ground is ace, let’s look forward to giving Dirty Leeds an early blow to their survival hopes. UTFT.