Everton Women - Walton Hall Park

Everton Women FC

Walton Hall Park Soccer Centre

Walton Hall Avenue 

Liverpool 

Merseyside

L4 9XP

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Ground Number: 1367
Sunday 13th October 2024
Everton 1-1 West Ham United
Womens Super League

EVERTON WOMEN FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club started life as Hoylake WFC in 1983. It merged with Dolphins YC to become Leasowe, then added Pacific to its title in a sponsorship deal. In 1988, they won the North West Women's League which they went on to win five times in a row. When the league expanded, they won Division 1 North at the first time of asking and joined the FA Womens Premier League. In 1995, they became Everton Women. In 1998, they won the Women's Premier League for the only time but they have been runners-up for five consecutive years from 2006 until 2010. In 2015, they were relegated to the WSL 2, finishing third in both seasons. Due to Notts County's demise, they won promotion back to the top flight in 2017. The women's football calendar shifted at this point and won the 2017 FA WSL 2 Spring Series in the interim. They have been in the rebranded Women's Super League ever since.

The club won the Women's FA Cup in 1989, beating Friends Of Fulham (now AFC Wimbledon Women) 3-2 and then again by the same scoreline against Arsenal in 2009. They also won the FA Women's Premier League Cup in 2008 and three Liverpool County Cups. Previous home venues have included the Cuemasters Ground in Upton Road, Moreton, Wirral until 1998, Marine FC's Rossett Park (1998 - 2013), Widnes Viking RFC's Select Security Stadium (2013 - 2018) and Haig Avenue, Southport (2018 - 20). Since February 2020, they have played at Walton Hall Park though some games are staged at Goodison Park owing to the small capacity.

MY VISIT

Back when Colin and I planned this weekend in Liverpool. I knew that he would be going to Anfield if he could. This was a consideration for me as I'd love to do a revisit there and get some proper photos. When I went there for a memorable visit against Zenit St Petersburg in 2013, my phone crashed and I lost the photos. No Dropbox automatic upload back then so I had to make do with the photos I took on a ground tour in 2008. But with me needing to visit Everton Women to complete the Women's Super League in terms of grounds, it was always going to be high on the list. Even seeing that the ground wasn't great didn't after my plans so on Tuesday, I purchased my ticket for the game. 

I'd really enjoyed my visit to Goodison Park over a decade ago and wouldn't have minded a revisit but options were few and far between with limited time off work. For as long as I've been watching football. Everton have been largely unsuccessful for a club of their size with just a 4th-place finish and the 1995 FA Cup win to their name. It must be painful watching their local rivals do fairly well in comparison but it's not since the mid 80's that they've had anywhere near a top team. My main memory of Everton was in 1994 when they were 2-0 down against Wimbledon at halftime on the final day and staring relegation in the face. However, a second-half recovery and goal from Barry Horne and Graham Stuart saw them recover and stay up by the skin of their teeth.

From our game at South Liverpool, we made our way to Walton Hall Park with the drive taking half an hour. The plan was to go to Jenny's Cafe. Despite being listed as open, it was not unreasonably, closed on a Sunday. I put my faith in Google again and it directed me to a place called Kitchen King. This was just the ticket but cash only. I was glad of the money I got out earlier as I was able to get a chilli hotdog. It came with seasoned fries and was superb and huge for £5.95. I ate it as I walked to the game, getting there 20 minutes before kickoff. They were playing some great tunes including one of my favourites, Forever Everton. The atmosphere was nice and friendly and although not perfect, the ground didn't deserve the slagging that Northern Lights fan Daniel gave it. It was a little crowded as half the crowd was fenced off but I still got a decent view.

 

It was a clash between the bottom two clubs with Everton sitting bottom and West Ham second bottom. Both had one draw to their name, Everton gaining theirs in a 0-0 draw at Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby whilst West Ham United drew at home to the same opponent. Everton started brightly but it was West Ham that took the lead through Anouk Denton on ten minutes. The rest of the half was quite dull, though I met up with Everton fan Ollie and got a match badge. The second half continued in the same dull fashion but Everton equalised with a deflected Melissa Lawley shot on 72 minutes. That was it as goals were concerned, the quality in the final third somewhat lacking even if the passing was decent. I headed back to my car and cracked on with my blog whilst I waited for Colin to come back from the Liverpool game. With the game kicking off an hour later and his slow pace, I was expecting a fair wait but I had lots to keep me busy.

THE GROUND

Walton Hall Park is probably the smallest venue in the top flight of the women's game. The only cover is a 500-seater stand whilst the rest of the ground is open. The crowd of around 450 had enough space for it to be comfortable, though it was a mystery why they closed off half of the ground as it would have been nicer to spread out. There was no bar but a couple of food stalls were brought in. There was also a face painting stall and a table selling various bits of merch. The atmosphere was good in one corner of the stand thanks to people singing and a drummer. It had a more family atmosphere than the men's game with a larger proportion of kids and parents than usual. Overall it was a positive experience.