Everton forward Nicoline Sorensen said the much-anticipated match was “almost everything we hoped for” after Gabby George opened the scoring for her side before Katie Stengel slotted home Liverpool’s equaliser.

“It was amazing, the fans were amazing,” Sorensen told Sky Sports. “The last part that was missing was the win. But a fantastic night and the fans were fantastic.”

It is the first time a women’s derby match has been hosted at Goodison Park and the first appearance at the stadium for the Toffees since they were beaten 4-0 by Manchester City at the start of the 2021-22 season, in front of what was their previous record of 5,998 fans.

“I’ve been here for many of the men’s games and it’s the same vibe,” said Everton boss Brian Sorensen. “This is what we want, that’s why we play and hopefully we can have more of these.”

Liverpool boss Matt Beard hopes it will inspire more fans to attend matches on a regular basis, calling it a “great advert” for women’s football.

‘We have to be careful talking about rivalries’

While a point is not the result the Toffees would have hoped for given their 3-0 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield in September, the Reds now look certain to stay in the top flight – and an increasingly intense rivalry between the two clubs looks a mouth-watering prospect.

Yet off the pitch, Liverpool boss Beard said it was important to preserve the family-friendly atmosphere that has become synonymous with women’s football.

“We have to be careful with rivalry, what we don’t want is it to become like the men’s game,” he said.

“We have families – dads and daughters and mothers and sons – who come to our games and the last thing we want is to create an atmosphere where it’s unsettling for the kids.

“Hopefully the fanbases will continue to grow but we have to be careful talking about rivalries, I don’t think it’s right.

“The game is young, we are still growing and we have to understand who comes to our games. These young girls are going to follow their teams throughout their life, this is the start of that journey.”

Before the match the fan zone was open to all fans and many children and families sported a mixture of Everton and Liverpool shirts or half-and-half scarves, while any chanting or taunting was only in jest.

Inside the ground, the noise that followed Stengel’s equaliser showed that rather than just constrained to their away allocation in the corner of the Bullens Road Stand, there were many Liverpool fans peppered around the stadium but without issue.

Blue and red scarves were waved in almost equal measure as chants from both sets of supporters rang around the ground.