Garner's 'Indescribable Feeling' & New Goal Target

James Garner says scoring the first goal in front of Hill Dickinson Stadium's iconic South Stand gave him a "special feeling" he found difficult to truly describe, while setting his sights on contributing more goals this season.

Garner has operated in an unfamiliar left-back role for the opening two games of the 2025/26 campaign, but managed to get on the scoresheet with a 25-yard thunderbolt in front of the 14,800-capacity South Stand end in Everton's 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

Speaking to evertontv afterwards, the 24-year-old says that victory on a historic day for everyone involved with the Club must now be used as a springboard to launch a promising new chapter.

"A clean sheet, a goal and a 2-0 win at the new stadium is everything I could have hoped for," he smiled. "We had the first glimpse of what this stadium could be like when we're scoring and when we're winning and I'm hoping for many more days and nights, just like how it was [on Sunday].

"I played in some high-pressure games at Goodison and some really memorable games at Goodison, but to be part of that first game, our new home, was special – and it was even more special to start off with a win."

Breaking down his memorable strike, Garner continued: "It's an amazing feeling to just score a goal. I don't score many, I should be scoring more than what I do. But to just score a goal in the Premier League and to help the team win is such an amazing feeling and achievement. I think everyone should talk about it a little bit more, in terms of how it really does make them feel, because it's a feeling that you can't really describe.

"I definitely want to add more goals and that's something that everyone wants to add. It's easier said than done but it's something I know I can do. I know I've definitely got the technical abilities to be scoring more goals, it's now just popping up at the right time and being the right man in the right place, or even just scoring from 25 yards out like I did today – I need to do more of it.

"I'm hoping to help the team a lot more goals and assists-wise this season."

David Moyes described Garner's performance against Brighton as "fabulous", as he once again deputised at left-back in the absence of the injured Vitalii Mykolenko and summer signing Adam Aznou.

Garner was a force at both ends, scoring the Blues' second goal of the afternoon and creating two chances, while nullifying the ever-dangerous Yankuba Minteh and producing a total of nine clearances in defence.

"I'm really happy," said Garner on his defensive efforts. "I knew what I was up against today with Minteh – he's probably one of the fastest players in the Premier League, so I knew what I had to do and I think I defended him quite well.

"To keep a clean sheet, with Jake [O'Brien] up against another of the Premier League's best wingers as well, is a great feeling. It's good to know that I can defend against these elite-level players."

Next up, Everton welcome Mansfield Town to Hill Dickinson Stadium in the Carabao Cup second round on Wednesday (7.45pm BST kick-off), in front of what will be another sell-out crowd.

"We don't want to look past Wednesday," added Garner. "We want to keep the momentum going.

"After that we have another big Premier League game against Wolves, who have had a tough start and we didn't want to be going into that game without our first win. 

"It was important for us to get the first win, especially at home in our new stadium, and now it's important to kick on and keep that winning feeling."