Everton’s new stadium at Bramley Moore witnessed its first match between their under-18 side and Wigan Athletic under-18. The near 53,000-capacity strong stadium was only partially filled, with 10,000 spectators allowed to enjoy the facilities and vibe of the Toffees’ new home turf.
This ‘test event’ was a friendly match between the two youth teams but things got heated soon after kick-off. It wasn’t even an Everton player to score the first goal in the new stadium. Wigan Athletic U18 midfielder Harrison Rimmer scripted himself into the history books by scoring the opener in the 12th minute.
What he did after scoring started sparking some feisty reactions from the Everton supporters. Soon after scoring, Rimmer was mobbed by his teammates for becoming the first player to score a goal in this new state-of-the-art stadium.
But as his name was being announced on the newly installed speakers, a few Everton fans started to loudly boo at him. This booing was clearly audible because of the sheer silence in the stadium, which wasn’t even fully packed nor had any travelling fans.
This jeering is also kind of heritage among Everton fans because of how many times they’ve booed their own players or team’s performance at Goodison Park in recent years.
Rimmer decided to have a cheeky dig at the fans who booed him. He pointed the six fingers at the fans, a reference to the six UEFA Champions League titles won by Liverpool. One particular Everton fan was absolutely raging at the 18-year-old’s actions and wanted him physically harmed.
After the goal, the live telecast of the match witnessed the fan shout, ‘break his f****** legs’ when Rimmer received the ball. The feistiness of this friendly match between youngsters is probably an early preview of the kind of aggressive, eventful matches that are in store at the new Everton stadium from the 2025/26 season.
