Manchester United fought back from a goal down to eventually run out as very comfortable winners in the first Women’s Super League game staged at Hill Dickinson Stadium, as a historic day for Everton ended in disappointment and one of their former players, Jess Park, ended up being the late star of the show.

A crowd of 18,154 were inside the Everton men’s team’s new home and they were temporarily on course for a celebratory day when Honoka Hayashi’s first-half strike had the home side leading 1-0, but Melvine Malard’s equaliser and Hikaru Kitagawa’s own goal meant it was the travelling army of about 1,000 Manchester United fans who were making all the noise. Two late goals from the substitute Park then gave the away side a margin of victory that more accurately reflected their domination.

The result also preserved United’s unbeaten start to the WSL campaign and was their fourth victory from their opening six league fixtures, and they remain just two points behind the leaders Chelsea.

The visitors should have been at least 2-0 up, and could even have been three goals ahead, inside eight minutes, as firstly Lisa Naalsund clipped an effort comfortably over the crossbar...