Jagielka And Naismith Net In Everton Legends Victory

Everton Legends concluded a historic day at Hill Dickinson Stadium with a 2-0 victory against AS Roma Legends on Saturday evening.

Phil Jagielka donned the armband and opened the scoring inside 22 minutes with a glancing header after meeting a trademark Leighton Baines corner.

Steven Naismith then doubled Everton’s tally on 31 minutes after great work from substitute Jose Baxter.

A host of Toffees heroes including Jagielka, Baines, Steven Pienaar, Tony Hibbert, Yakubu and many more sported the royal blue strip once more in a memorable day at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

After the Club’s new home opened its doors to a full-capacity crowd for the first ever time, the Legends graced the pitch to celebrate the special occasion.

It was the hosts who looked strongest throughout, with the nostalgic ‘Bainaar’ combination bringing the Toffees success down the left flank.

It was Baines who provided Jagielka with the opener – his perfectly-weighted corner reaching the front-post where the centre-back was on hand to head home.

The blue domination continued, with Naismith adding a second six minutes after the interval. Sheer determination saw Baxter dispossess his man inside the area, before he fired an enticing ball across the face of goal. The forward brought it down before finishing in to an empty net in front of the South Stand.

A cameo from manager Peter Reid concluded the affair – the head coach taking off his jacket to reveal an Everton top, much to the crowd’s delight. His every touch was cheered by the Evertonians, many of whom had taken to their new ground for the first time.