Everton fan heartbroken after making 10k mile trip from Australia for Liverpool clash

A devastated Everton fan who saved up his money to travel to watch the Toffee’s final-ever Merseyside Derby clash against Liverpool at Goodison Park has been left heartbroken after the game was called off.

A weather warning was put in place across Merseyside on Friday night, as Storm Darragh began to rampage through westerly parts of the country.

But it wasn’t until early Saturday morning that the match was officially called off by the authorities, who cited a ‘risk to safety’ as one of the key factors behind the postponement.

What had promised to be a crunch game at both ends of the Premier League table will now be rearranged for some point in the future.

But for Mackenzie Kinsella, who had travelled all the way from Australia to be in attendance, his dream of watching the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park has been crushed.

His mum Rita had previously told her son he had ‘no chance’ of saving enough money to go and watch the Merseyside Derby in person.

But determined to prove her wrong, Mackenzie looked after the pennies and put away enough to secure a trip back to England.

She told BBC Radio Merseyside: “You’ve got no chance mate [she told him].

“We’ve just come back from England [on holiday] and there’s no way I can save that money in the time we’ve got.

“When we came back [after Easter], he said it was his dream to go to an Everton vs Liverpool game at Goodison Park.

“He saved up the money, used all his savings and said two weeks ago ‘I’d really like to go mum – will you let me go?’ I said, ‘I can’t stop you if you’ve got the money’. We’re very proud of him.”

Mackenzie had admitted he could’ve saved his cash to buy a car, but instead fancied the trip to what was supposed to be the final-ever Premier League clash between the historic rivals at Goodison Park.

The youngster had been at Everton’s midweek fixture against Wolverhampton and was treated to a thumping 4-0 win.

But as he’s due to travel back down under next week, hopes of seeing the fixture in person look to have been dashed by Storm Daragh.

A statement from Everton on Saturday morning read: “Following a Safety Advisory Group meeting at Goodison Park, attended by officials from both clubs, as well as representatives from Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council this morning, it was decided that, due to the risk to safety in the local area due to strong wind gusts, and an amber severe wind warning that remains in place until 6am on Sunday, today’s fixture should be postponed on safety grounds,” the statement read.

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank supporters for their understanding. Whilst we appreciate this will be deeply disappointing for supporters, the safety of fans, staff and players is of paramount importance.

“Information relating to a rearranged date for the fixture will be announced in due course.

“All tickets purchased for the original fixture will remain valid for the rearranged fixture.”