Iliman Ndiaye says it was a dream come true after he scored the first goal at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, Afrosport reports.
The Senegal international opened the scoring in the 23rd minute off an assist from new signing Jack Grealish before the Manchester City loanee set up James Garner for the second goal in the second half.
Ndiaye revealed his daughter told him he would score the first goal at Bramley-Moore Dock after netting the last goal at the Toffees’ old ground, Goodison Park, in May.
“It came true [what my daughter said], of course, I remember! That was the first thing that came to my mind. It’s a dream come true,” he said.
The former Marseille player continued: “[Making history] is what football is about, you know, and that’s what I play football for. I want to make moments like this for me, for my family and obviously for the fans as well. Now I’m an answer to another quiz question in the future!
“It’s nice, it’s very special. Obviously, coming here today, we wanted a good result for us and the fans to kick on our season and we got that. It felt amazing.
“The atmosphere was fantastic. When we play, we need the fans. We try to do things for the fans to shout about. The noise today was from the first minute, and they were with us like they’ve been last year and over obviously over the years.
“It’s important to get this win under the belt. It feels like home, and we can move on from here now. We want to keep the standards, keep working and correct whatever mistakes we’ve done and keep getting more results.”
1 – Iliman Ndiaye has become Everton’s first ever Premier League scorer at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, having also been the Toffees’ final scorer at Goodison Park in May. Bookended. pic.twitter.com/ASM5xLFUAU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 24, 2025
Everton will play once again at Hill Dickinson Stadium when they take on Mansfield Town in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
