Tottenham spoiled Everton’s first match at Goodison Park since it became their permanent home by comprehensively beating them with the help of a stunning debut goal for Cathinka Tandberg.
The Toffees had hoped to begin the start of a new era at the iconic stadium, allocated to them following the men’s relocation to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront.
But, on a miserable and windy day on Merseyside, Brian Sorensen’s side struggled to get going and were unable to mark the historic occasion with a win.
Tottenham’s constant pressure paid off when Olga Ahtinen scored in the 27th minute, nipping the ball away from Rion Ishikawa and playing a one-two with Tandberg before slotting past Courtney Brosnan.
Tandberg then stunned the 6,473-strong crowd on 49 minutes when she spotted Brosnan off her line, lobbing her from 40-yards out with a sweet strike that nestled in the bottom corner.
Everton improved in the second half but had already given themselves a huge hurdle to overcome and ultimately failed to conjure a single shot on target.
Goodison Park is the biggest dedicated women’s stadium in the country but many areas have been covered with branding for the women’s team. Everton are keen to make the stadium more intimate having taken on a ground with a previous capacity of 39,572.