The Everton match verdict from Joe Thomas after the 3-0 Premier League victory over Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon
Thierno Barry celebrates after scoring his first goal for Everton against Nottingham Forest
Thierno Barry celebrates after scoring his first goal for Everton against Nottingham Forest
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Wild celebrations have been a theme of recent weeks for Everton, but none were as ecstatic as this. When Thierno Barry finally scored his first goal in Royal Blue, it was a scene of pure elation.
The emotion was clear on and off the pitch. The 23-year-old, a ball of angst and frustration as his search for a breakthrough carried on longer than anyone hoped or expected, wheeled away towards the corner flag as the ball rolled over the line.
Off balance, having slotted past the onrushing Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels, first he had his arms wide open in joy. Then there was the knee slide. Then came the embraces of his teammates, followed by a long walk back to the halfway line and a playbook of signs of gratitude, appreciation and happiness.
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On the sideline, David Moyes performed a celebratory jig. In the stands, the goal was greeted by a roar only bettered here by the chaos of Jack Grealish’s stoppage-time winner against Crystal Palace and Iliman Ndiaye’s opening goal of Everton’s new dawn on the Liverpool waterfront.
This was perhaps the purest celebration of an Everton goal since academy graduate Lewis Dobbin sealed a win over Chelsea with a late finish at the height of the club’s ruthless retort to its first points deduction, almost precisely two years ago.
The Blues manager that day was Sean Dyche. This time he was in the opposition dugout, probably seething. Dyche was also the manager just over a year ago when Beto ended a long drought with a last-minute equaliser at home to Fulham. The striker left the pitch in tears that night, and, while it was not clear if Barry had shed happiness-inspired droplets, this was another moment of high drama and emotion. Everton will hope it is not another false dawn – it took Beto more than three months to strike again, though he then hit the form that did much to drag Everton away from trouble in the immediate resurgence inspired by the second coming of Moyes.
This was not just a goal for Everton. It was a necessity. It was the culmination of a long, desperate and sometimes frantic search for progress. Barry had played 14 Premier League matches before his calm finish settled nerves on the stroke of half-time and helped steer Everton to another significant win in what is becoming a campaign of statement victories.
Such has been his struggle; it took until Bournemouth in midweek for him to record his first shot on target since his £27m move from Villarreal. That did not tell the whole story, though. Given a fresh opportunity in the starting line-up at the Stadium of Light, he was a nuisance at Sunderland last month. In the opening 28 minutes he won headers and hustled the ball into Everton possession for Ndiaye’s opening goal. Then his world turned upside down when he wasted a golden opportunity at the back post – a miss that changed the dynamic of a game his side would ultimately be lucky to emerge from with a point.
Thierno Barry scores for Everton against Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Thierno Barry scores for Everton against Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium(Image: ( Richard Martin-Roberts - CameraSport via Getty Images))
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That could have been the end of him, but there is a case to say it was the turning point. Moyes kept faith in him when Fulham visited Merseyside, and, while he did not score, he impressed supporters and his manager. He left the pitch to resounding applause and departed the stadium to the sound of Moyes singing his praises. It felt like a breakthrough.
After that match, Barry wrote on social media: “There are things that mean more than goals. With my difficult start to the season without scoring, receiving an ovation from you today really warmed my heart and showed me that I’m on the right path. Once again, thank you so much.”
An international break followed before another impressive display at Old Trafford. This was a battling performance that helped his team to a famous victory while playing with 10 men for 75 minutes after Idrissa Gueye’s sending off. He won 14 aerial duels that night. Not a goal but, again, progress.
No-one left the waterfront with credit last Saturday, when Newcastle United thrashed Everton. It was particularly cruel for the France youth international, though, who – like against Fulham - had a goal disallowed. The ruling came after the celebrations had started, adding to the misery.
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At the Vitality Stadium he almost got his goal, prodding at Djordje Petrovic as Everton battled towards another away win at a scene of regular torment. He was getting closer. And then he had his moment.
Everton had the lead but not the ascendancy when Barry struck. After being hit inside the opening minute against Newcastle last week, this time they struck after two when in-form Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cut inside Dan Ndoye and into the net via a flick from Nikola Milenkovic. The hosts were starting to look ragged as the break approached, though, and needed Jordan Pickford to push away from Elliot Anderson after the England international got behind Jake O’Brien and shot through the legs of James Tarkowski.
Referee Chris Kavanagh played on as Forest sensed an opportunity and set up camp on the edge of the Blues’ box. Their complacency proved costly when Everton won the ball and broke at speed, Ndiaye carrying it to the edge of the opposition box with Barry and Carlos Alcaraz either side of him. He drew in the only defender in their path and slipped an awkward ball to Barry, but one that he met before the approaching Sels to send Everton’s dazzling new stadium into orbit.
Forest mustered an attempt at a response in the early stages of the second half, but a perfectly timed challenge by James Tarkowski as Neco Williams broke through on goal, followed 10 minutes later by a brave block from the same player, was enough to thwart a tame effort by the visitors.
With 20 minutes to go, Everton went in for the kill. Dewsbury-Hall curled against the post, and Sels stretched to save from Ndiaye as Dyche’s team buckled under a Royal Blue onslaught. Dewsbury-Hall finally got the goal his performance deserved late on when he drove home from inside the box after Sels pawed at a corner, the former Leicester City man celebrating in front of the away end. Part of the travelling fanbase had revelled in poverty, chanting for periods of this game, but their corner of the stadium had largely deserted their players before the end of this match.
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Before Dewsbury-Hall sealed this win, Barry was withdrawn to the acclaim of most of the 52,500 people inside the stadium. When he left the pitch, all four stands serenaded him after a breakthrough that was so desperately needed for player and club.
He was greeted with a handshake by Moyes, who wrapped an arm over his shoulders and spoke a few words to his summer signing before letting him take the adulation of his teammates and coaches on the bench.
At Sunderland last month Barry took his seat in the stands and sat with his head on his knees in dejection as the match continued before him. This afternoon, he leaned back and gazed on as his friends took advantage of the platform he had helped them build. It was a poignant moment.
Seven days ago Everton were a team on their knees after their humiliation at the hands of Newcastle. Their response, despite the injuries and suspensions that have hampered them, has been emphatic.
In a season in which calm progress is the target, Everton ended this game in fifth-place. Just as significant, their search for a striker may now be over.