The Blues didn't have it all their own way against Ipswich Town but David Moyes' side head into the international break with a win.
Thierno Barry celebrates scoring his second goal, which was later disallowed, during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Everton and Ipswich Town
Thierno Barry celebrates scoring his second goal, which was later disallowed, during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Everton and Ipswich Town(Image: Photo by Gary Oakley - Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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Nobody expected this as the world collapsed around David Moyes and his team in the hours before the game at Bournemouth.
With supporters in revolt over the proposed sale of Harrison Armstrong, and with a transfer window hurtling towards disaster, the fear of another difficult campaign loomed large for Everton.
It could still turn out that way. But, after defeating Ipswich Town, the Blues head into the international break unbeaten across all competitions. It has been far from easy - the resilience of Moyes’ threadbare squad has been tested repeatedly. Yet they have been equal to the demands placed upon them. Moyes and his players have every right to spend the next three weeks feeling pleased with themselves.
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Everton ended this match fifth in the Premier League after two wins and three draws from their opening schedule. Summer signings have settled in and Jarrad Branthwaite is back in the England squad after finding form and fitness.
The fans have had eruptions of joy at stoppage time equalisers home and away and games at two grounds that have been dreadful destinations for Everton teams of the past - the Vitality Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - have been safely navigated. Moyes’ team is also through to a home draw in the last 16 of the Carabao Cup after professional jobs against two Championship teams.
Armstrong, the teenager who appeared to be on his way to Nottingham Forest at the end of August, has been at the centre of that success. The England youth international has started every league game, a run that continued against Ipswich after he recovered in time from the knock that kept him out of the cup game against Wolves in midweek.
His name was the last to be read out as the teams prepared for kick-off. He received the loudest cheer. He delivered again, his maturity evident in a scrappy game that, in truth, Everton were lucky to emerge from with three points.
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They did so through the fortune of Thierno Barry. The forward celebrated his 11th minute goal as if he had produced a wonder-strike from 25 yards. Instead, it was captain James Tarkowski who struck a volley sweetly from that distance only to see it cannon off his teammate's chest and spin past a wrong-footed Christian Walton.
Everton should have been ahead within the first five minutes. Armstrong slipped Brennan Johnson through on goal and the summer signing had time and space to pick his spot. He pulled it wide.
The hosts had other chances, Barry glancing wide a free header from an Ainsley Maitland-Niles cross when he should have done better. But Ipswich also came close, aided by sloppy moments that characterised the display by the hosts.
Jordan Pickford saved with his legs when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall mistakenly found Emersonn on the edge of the box and Pickford pushed wide an Abdul Fatawu half-volley after Branthwaite misjudged a clearance to concede a corner. Fatawu later nutmegged James Garner and left Pickford scrambling with an effort from halfway after picking up a loose Everton pass, while Leif Davis spurned a golden chance when left unmarked at the back post.
Ipswich then threatened again early in the second half, with Pickford forced into important saves from Julio Enciso and Abdoul Outtara.
For all the luck Barry had with his first goal, he was unlucky not to claim a second when he headed in a corner on the hour mark. He went through his catalogue of celebrations only for referee Stuart Attwell to rule it out for offside after the intervention of VAR. Johnson was offside and there is an argument to say he impeded the line of sight of Walton. But the frustration lies from the reality that the goalkeeper would have been helpless even had Johnson not been there.
It was a second goal that would have held value for Everton, who remained under pressure even after one-time Blues target Fatawu was shown a second yellow just under 10 minutes later. His first, in the first half, was for a cynical foul on Dewsbury-Hall. His second came after he attempted to buy a foul on the edge of the Everton box while being tracked by Garner. There were few complaints.
Moyes had just introduced Tyler Dibling, and he made an impact, building on his man-of-the-match display against Wolves by forcing Walton into a good save, picking out Dewsbury-Hall, who should have hit the target at the back post, and then firing into the side netting.
Control of this game eluded Everton, though, with the introduction of Zian Flemming leading to some anxious moments and the requirement for several brave blocks by Branthwaite as the home crowd implored Attwell to end the game amid seven long minutes of stoppage time.
That whistle did, finally, come. And with it the three points that leave unbeaten Everton in an unexpectedly healthy position given the challenges Moyes and those around him have faced off the pitch. Further challenges lie ahead, but against the odds, Everton have built a solid foundation and Finch Farm can take pride in that.