Everton edge Ipswich Town 1-0 after Barry goal and VAR drama
Everton/X.com
Barry’s opener came when James Tarkowski’s volley struck him in the chest and wrong-footed goalkeeper Christian Walton, and the striker later had a header from a corner ruled out after a VAR check found that Brennan Johnson had impeded Walton from an offside position, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Everton were made to hold on after Fatawu was sent off in the second half. Jordan Pickford also had to save from Fatawu, while Leif Davis missed the target from the back post.
Everton manager David Moyes questioned the decision to disallow Barry’s second.
“I think [the rule is whether] it affects his ability to save it, which I didn’t think was the case. But look, it’s really difficult for the referees. We understand that.
"Do I think we’ll get consistency from that decision through all the season? I’ll be doubtful of that. The goalkeeper wouldn’t have saved it. He got taken a little bit to the front post by the runner, Brennan Johnson.”
Moyes also felt Everton should have made the game safer, with Johnson missing a one-on-one in the first five minutes and Barry and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall spurning headed chances.
“They started a bit better in the second half and then, once the player got sent off, I thought we should have gone on and scored more. So credit to Ipswich for sticking with it and hanging in, they made it a bit nervy at the end. But overall, we did the job.”
Ipswich Town manager Gary O’Neil, speaking to TownTV, was frustrated to leave with nothing.
“We’re disappointed with the result, of course, because we came here for points and didn’t get any,” he said. “We worked hard, tried hard but maybe lacked a bit of quality in the final third and maybe made some wrong decisions or wrong passes.
“We restricted Everton to not too many opportunities and conceded a very unfortunate goal to a big deflection, while controlling most of the game.”
O’Neil was proud of the response after Fatawu’s dismissal.
“We showed we were very competitive again today, both with 11 and 10 men. The response was incredible. We went 5-3-1 for a few minutes to give us a sense of calm and control, then managed to get some attackers on the pitch and really pushed and created a feeling of chaos in the stadium.
“We deserved something from the game but the disappointing thing for us today is that we didn’t get it.”