Barry Double Lifts Everton Past Coventry to Fifth Place
Everton are fifth in the Premier League, and Thierno Barry is just behind Erling Haaland in the scoring chart. David Moyes' side got there with a comeback against Coventry, after a transfer window that closed in calamitous fashion.
A slow first half, then a quick turnaround
Everton laboured until Yann Gboho put Coventry ahead early in the second half. Jack Rudoni fed Gboho, a deflection off James Tarkowski helped, and the forward held off three Everton players before shooting past Jordan Pickford.
Everton replied in under ten minutes. Tyler Dibling, who had barely been noticed in his first league start this term, whipped in a dangerous cross. Coventry failed to clear. Vitalii Mykolenko crossed again and Barry, holding off Jay Dasilva, headed in.
His second came soon after. He bundled in Tyrique George's delivery at the far post after Dasilva's attempted clearance struck the ball against Barry, possibly his hand. That was his 10th goal in all competitions this season.
The third was beyond argument. Barry split the Coventry defence with a pass, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall raced clear to finish inside the near post. The midfielder had put another England disappointment behind him.
Lampard's complaints
Coventry manager Frank Lampard faced his old club and left empty-handed. He felt his team were denied three times. The video assistant referee did not act on the apparent handball by Barry for the second goal, and replays were inconclusive.
Tarkowski, the Everton captain, appeared to pull Caleb Yirenkyi's hair and raise an arm towards Ethan Pinnock's face as he cleared a free-kick. Referee Stuart Attwell and VAR Timothy Wood decided the hair-pull did not meet this season's higher threshold for excessive force. Under last season's standard, the Everton captain would have gone off.
Lampard accepted that. "It's not a red card and I kind of get that," he said, but he still felt it was a foul.
He also wanted a penalty when Taiwo Awoniyi went down under a challenge from Mykolenko. "I thought it was a penalty by the time Myko's knee was in the back of Taiwo's knee," Lampard said.
Moyes equals Catterick
The match was also a landmark for Moyes. He equalled Harry Catterick's record of 592 games in charge of Everton. Catterick won two league titles and an FA Cup. Moyes, in the final year of his contract, works with the smallest squad in the Premier League.
After the game he said expectations are welcome because they mean Everton are doing well, but someone will eventually point to the size of the squad. He praised Barry's display and said the striker's language, understanding and communication are better now.
Source: the Guardian