I played 500 games but never experienced an atmosphere like Goodison Park under the lights
Kevin Kilbane labelled the club's 2005 win over Manchester United as an experience like no other as he reflected on his love for Goodison Park.
The winger, who made just over 100 appearances during a three-year stint at the Blues, played the full 90 minutes in a win that was crucial to securing Champions League qualification that season.
Advertisement
It came under the lights and was secured by a second half Duncan Ferguson header from Mikel Arteta's free-kick, a goal that sparked wild celebrations.
READ MORE: Everton squad rebuild latest as Blues start busy transfer window with flurry of big calls
READ MORE: Everton to install another game-changing service at Hill Dickinson Stadium
For Kilbane, who played more than 500 professional games and earned over 100 caps for the Republic of Ireland, it was a standout night in his career and one he still recalls with fondness some 20 years on.
Speaking a fortnight after the emotional goodbye to Goodison , which will host Everton Women from next season, Kilbane said: 'It'll always be my favourite ground. I used to love the older grounds. Even before I signed for Everton, I loved White Hart Lane and I loved Goodison Park.
Advertisement
"They were my two, and I'm not just saying it because I played for Everton, they really were.'
Kilbane was a key part of the squad that, during current manager David Moyes' first spell at the club, secured a top four league finish.
Speaking to the ECHO, via Online Casino , he said: 'When you get the chance to play at Goodison, I think any Evertonian, every fan, would always have said, Everton under the lights was very, very special.
"The night games, the big games at night at Goodison Park were incredible.
'The one that sticks out in my mind was when we played Man United, when we qualified for the Champions League, when Duncan Ferguson got the winner . That is one memory that I always have - that I've never probably experienced an atmosphere like it.
"And I'm a bit gutted I wasn't able to get back this year but it's such a special ground in many different ways.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
14 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Bruno Fernandes turns down lucrative Al Hilal offer to stay at Man United
Associated Press MUNICH (AP) — Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has turned down a proposed move to Saudi club Al Hilal because he wants 'to play at the highest possible level.' Fernandes confirmed Tuesday that he had received an 'exciting offer' from the Riyadh-based club to switch after what was a disappointing season for United. 'They waited for me to think about my future, because I said only if Manchester thought it was the time to move on, that I'd be willing to do so,' Fernandes said through an interpreter. 'I talked to the gaffer, Ruben Amorim, and at the time he asked me not to go. I then talked to Man United. They said they didn't want to sell me. If I wanted to go, I could, but they didn't need the money, they didn't need to sell me.' Media reports suggested Al Hilal was prepared to pay 100 million pounds ($135 million) to take the 30-year-old Fernandes from United while offering him a wage of 700,000 pounds ($946,000) per week to play for the Saudi Pro League team, which will compete in the Club World Cup this month in the United States. 'It was a very exciting offer,' Fernandes said. 'The president of Al Hilal, he was very nice to me. He talked to my manager but then I talked to my wife and as a family we wanted to see what I wanted to do. She asked me, what do you want to do with your future?' Fernandes last year signed a contract extension to stay at Old Trafford until June 2027. This season did not go as planned as the Red Devils failed to qualify for the Champions League after finishing 15th in the Premier League, while United also endured the heartbreak of losing the Europa League final to Tottenham. 'We had goals and we didn't meet them,' said Fernandes, a key figure for United since his arrival in January 2020. He said it would have been easy for the family to make the move to Riyadh, and for him to adjust to the team with Portugal teammates Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo already playing for Al Hilal. 'I'm used to them, but I want to play at the highest possible level," Fernandes said. "I want play for major competitions. I know I still can, and I want to be happy doing the thing I love the most. And for better or worse, I'm still very passionate about football. This is how I see football. This is how I see my life and my future, and I'm happy about the decision I made.' Fernandes was speaking as a Portugal player before the team's Nations League semifinal against Germany on Wednesday in Munich. The winner of that game will face either France or Spain in Sunday's final. ___ AP soccer: recommended in this topic
Forbes
15 minutes ago
- Forbes
2025 UEFA Women's Nations League: France Stay Perfect, Switzerland Relegated And Ukraine Promoted
France maintained a 100% record in their group. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images) ... More With the league stage played out in the space of a few months in the first half of the year, the 2025 UEFA Women's Nations League has served as a great appetizer ahead of the Euros. Many of the tournament favorites were in action in League A, while there were some interesting stories and results elsewhere too. Each of the top three from the inaugural edition of the Women's Nations League sealed a return to the knockouts, but they all did so in different ways. In Group A1, Germany's first piece of competitive action under new head coach Christian Wück resulted in an entertaining 2-2 draw with the Netherlands. They proceeded to run away with the group thereafter, scoring 24 more goals and winning all five remaining group games comprehensively, including an emphatic 4-0 triumph over the Dutch to seal first place at the end of May. Austria finished third with six points, while Scotland was relegated after losing each of their first five games. France was even more commanding in Group A2, as they won all six games and kept clean sheets on all but one occasion. Norway was a distant second and followed by Iceland, while upcoming Euro host Switzerland finished last with just two points. Legendary head coach Pia Sundhage certainly has a task on her hands ahead of this summer's big tournament. Group A3 had all sorts of drama from start to finish. Just on the opening day, European champion England was held to a draw by Portugal while world champion Spain had to stage a dramatic late turnaround to beat Belgium 3-2. Ultimately, the two heavy-hitters went head to head for the top spot and semi-final berth. England won their first meeting by a solitary goal, but Spain staged another turnaround in the reverse fixture to win the group on the final day. Montse Tomé's side might have accumulated 15 points, but they are now without a clean sheet in 10 games and will need to tighten up at the back to meet expectations at the Euros. Spain's defense never looked entirely solid in this Nations League campaign. (Photo by Eric ...) The last group was nicely set up for an exciting finish as three teams remained in contention for the top spot on the final day, with only Wales' position confirmed at the bottom. However, Sweden raced to a three-goal lead in just over 10 minutes and went on to beat Denmark 6-1, leaving little room for any drama. Italy capitalized to finish second and avoid the relegation playoff. League B featured many teams that participated in the Euro 2025 Qualifying playoffs last year. Among them were Poland, who are set to make their debut at a major women's international tournament this summer. They certainly warmed up nicely by dominating Group B1, finishing with double of second-placed Northern Ireland's eight-point tally. Slovenia and Ireland finished level on points at the top of Group B2 with 15 each, but the former's 4-0 home head-to-head win earned them the top spot and with it, direct promotion to League A. At the bottom, Greece got the unwanted record of being the only pointless team in the top two divisions of the Nations League. Euro qualifiers Finland faced a tougher test in Group B3, where they were beaten to the top spot by Serbia. So, they will have to compete against a League A side in the promotion/relegation playoffs, which will be held in October. The promoted side from Group B4 was Ukraine, who edged ahead of Czechia thanks to a superior head-to-head record. Croatia was relegated after losing each of their first five games, thus finishing behind Albania. The directly promoted teams from League C are Slovakia, Malta, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Israel and Latvia. The Faroe Islands impressed by accumulating 10 points in six games, but perhaps the biggest story of all was Liechtenstein's final-day draw with Armenia, which earned them their first point in competitive action. Though it might not seem much, it marks a commendable effort from a team taking part in their first-ever official tournament.
Forbes
22 minutes ago
- Forbes
Why Does Maje From Netflix Hit ‘A Widow's Game' Look So Familiar?
Ivanna Baquero in "A Widow's Game." Ivana Baquero — the star of Netflix's No. 1 movie A Widow's Game — got her showbiz break in 2006 thanks a lead role in a Guillermo del Toro classic. What else has she starred in? Baquero stars as Maje in the A Widow's Game, which is currently the No. 1 film on the streamer's top 10 list of movies on the platform in the U.S. Netflix reported Tuesday that A Widow's Game also earned spots on Top 10 most-watched movie lists in 90 countries worldwide, amassing 15.4 million views since its debut on the streaming service on Friday, May 30. A Widow's Game is based on the real-life case known as "The Black Widow of Patraix.' The official summary for the film reads, 'August 2017. In a parking lot in Valencia appears the body of a man, stabbed seven times. Everything points to a crime of passion. Ivanna Baquero in "A Widow's Game." 'The Homicide Group of the city, with a veteran inspector at the head, starts an investigation against the clock that soon leads them to a suspect that no one expected: Maje, the young widow, sweet and serene, who had been married to the victim for less than a year.' Born June 11, 1994, in Barcelona, Spain, Baquero made her screen debut in a supporting role in the 2004 Spanish-UK supernatural thriller Romasanta, which was followed by roles in two more feature films and two TV movies. Baquero's breakthrough role, however, happened in 2006 when del Toro cast the young actor in the lead role in a film that went on to receive six Oscar nominations at the 2007 Academy Awards. Set in 1944, Pan's Labyrinth stars Ivana Baquero as Ofelia, a 10-year-old girl who moves with her ailing, pregnant mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil) to the Spanish countryside to live with Carmen's new husband, the brutal military dictator Captain Vidal (Sergi López). As Ofelia befriends a mythical creature known as the Faun (Doug Jones), she learns that she is a reincarnated princess who is saddled with completely three daunting tasks before she can once again assume the throne. Jones also plays the haunting creature the Pale Man in the film. Director Guillermo Del Toro and cast members Maribel Verdun, Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez ... More and Alfonso Cuaron at the photocall of "El laberinto del fauno" during the 59th Cannes Film Festival. (Photo by Eddy LEMAISTRE/Corbis via Getty Images) Produced in Spain, Pan's Labyrinth was nominated for six Oscars in 2007, including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score for Javier Navarette and Best Original Screenplay for Guillermo del Toro. Pan's Labyrinth won Oscars in the three other categories it was nominated in, including Best Makeup, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. Baquero was also honored for her role as Ofelia, winning the Best New Actress honor at the Goya Awards, which is Spain's equivalent to the Oscars. Baquero also won a Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA and was nominated for Best Young Actress at the 2007 Critics Choice Awards. Based on the best-selling The Sword of Shannara Trilogy of books by Terry Brooks, The Shannara Chronicles stars Ivana Baquero as Eretria opposites future Elvis and Dune: Part Two star Austin Butler. In the series, Eretria is a human who teams with the Elven Princess Amberle (Poppy Drayton) and a half-human/half-elf, Wil (Butler) to fend off demons from taking over the environs known as the Four Lands. Created by Wednesday creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, The Shannara Chronicles ran for two seasons on MTV from 2016 to 2017. The series also starred James Remar (Dexter) and John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings/Indiana Jones series). Alejandra Onieva and Ivanna Baquero in "High Seas." A Netflix original Spanish series, High Seas stars Ivana Baquero as Eve Villanueva and Alejandra Onieva as her sister, Carolina, who while on a luxury cruise from Spain to Brazil in the 1940s investigate a series of mysterious murders aboard the ship. High Seas ran for three seasons on Netflix from 2019 to 2020. The first and second seasons each featured eight episodes, while the third season concluded the series with six episodes. Ivana Baquero stars opposite Evil Dead icon Bruce Campbell in the horror comedy Black Friday as Marnie, one of a small group of a large retail toy store who must fight off blood-thirsty shoppers infected with a parasites as the annual day-after-Thanksgiving sale gets underway. Black Friday also stars Devon Sawa (the first movie in the Final Destination franchise) and Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight). A Widow's Tale, starring Ivana Baquero, is now streaming exclusively on Netflix.
