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My First Everton Match: Man City, April 1957
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My first memory of going to an everton home match was April 1957. I was 10 years old.
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My father was an everton fanatic and hardly ever missed a match. He even went on xmas day.This game my first game took place on Monday 27th april, Easter Monday.
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My dad said that after the match we had to go to my aunties house with easter eggs for my cousins. So off we went my dad clutching a bag of easter eggs and me full of excitement and anticipation.
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We walked down Finch Lane in Dovecote and caught the no 10 bus to Old Swan. This is when my heart raced there they were the old green godesses lined up to take us to Goodison Park, queues of men and boys waiting to get on there was a newspaper seller selling a pre-match Echo featuring a full length picture of a current everton player on the front page. My dad purchased the Echo i was delighted.
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Off the bus went bumping and rocking all the way. Then there it was 4 large pylons reaching into the sky what a sight. I skipped off the bus and we walked the short distance up Priory Road adjacent to the cemetary wall with what seemed like hundreds of others. Then we turned into Gwladys Street for the first time i looked at the huge imposing stand and wondered what it would be like inside.
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I stood in the queue clutching my Echo and bright blue programme i was tingling inside. My dad posistioned me in front of him learnt over and paid the gateman now i had to push the turnstile it did not seem to budge. My dad came to my rescue we both pushed then we where in. Now i was inside Goodison Park. The place i had dreamt about and been regaled about since i first had a thought.
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Up the steps we went then the breathtaking sight of a sea of green baize. I took it all in the white pitch markings, the penalty spots and then the goals the wooden rectangular goals with the heavy rope nets those two areas of this large stadium that have caused so much pleasure and pain. Then five to three(no z cars then) out came our opponents Manchester City to polite applause(yes really). Then us my Everton to rapturous applause. WOW! If iwas not already hooked i was now.
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The game ended 1-1 and i loved every second of it. The game was memorable to me not only was it my first our goal was scored by Derek Temple whose girlfriend was a friend of my
sisters and Derek had already got me autographs of the team.
I came out in a dream my first match i just wanted to go home and relive it again in my mind, read my Echo and the programme.
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Horror the Bloody Easter Eggs! A half hour walk to Red Rock Street off West Derby Road to meet my two female cousins who had no interest in my great dayand my rednose uncle who was pleased we hadn t won.
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Still nothing could diminish the pleasure of my first Everton match.
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