Jordan Pickford and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall react as referee Stuart Attwell rules out Thierno Barry's second goal for offside following a VAR check during the match between Everton and Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium on September 19, 2026
Jordan Pickford and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall react as referee Stuart Attwell rules out Thierno Barry's second goal for offside following a VAR check during the match between Everton and Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium on September 19, 2026(Image: Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
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Everton extended their unbeaten run this season to seven matches with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ipswich Town at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.
Despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men midway through the second half after Abdul Fatawu was sent off for a second bookable offence, the Blues made heavy weather of overcoming their newly promoted visitors.
Thierno Barry struck the only goal of the game on 11 minutes when James Tarkowski’s volley was deflected into the net off the striker’s torso but the Frenchman had a second ruled out in the second half despite heading in from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner as Brennan Johnson, who was stood in an offside position, was adjudged to have been interfering with play.
Here’s a round-up of how the national media reported on the action...
Dominic King of the Telegraph didn’t mince his words over the decision to rule out Barry’s second goal.
This nonsense simply must stop. The first part of this week was spent with the game debating a goal that should never have been allowed to stand and now it has ended with a debate about a goal that should never have been chalked off.
None of this should be hard for those tasked with making the big calls. But each week we fall further into a doom loop, awaiting either an apology from Pro Ref about what they got wrong or a statement on social media about a decision they made even though everyone else felt it was wrong.
So here we are exploring what happened after the circus rolled into town on Merseyside. Everton did enough to take three points off Ipswich, allowing David Moyes to enjoy a post-match glass of wine, but he would have been breathing fire had the intervention of VAR denied them what they deserved.
VAR has totally changed the face of football, almost turning it into a different sport. In the not-too-distant past, Thierno Barry’s 58th-minute header would have given Everton a two-goal buffer and nobody would have batted an eyelid about it.
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The Frenchman met Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s perfectly flighted corner, angled his header so it looped towards the top corner and Christian Walton, restored to the role of Ipswich’s goalkeeper, could have had someone else alongside him with a pair of gloves and they still would not have saved it.
Nobody appealed from Ipswich’s team. Everton’s players were happily making their way back to the centre circle, but then Stuart Attwell was “advised” by Andrew Kitchin, the video assistant referee, to go and have a look at the pitchside monitor. We knew, of course, what was going to happen next.
Strictly speaking, Brennan Johnson was in an offside position but the play happened so quickly, he could not have been interfering. Walton only put his hand into the Wales international’s midriff as Barry’s header was spinning into the net. But the killjoys had their way: no goal.
How have we ended up at a stage like this, where people in a studio are deciding outcomes based on still images or super-slow motions? Anyone with an understanding of the feel of football knew Barry had scored but feel and emotion have been stripped from football. It is a miserable debacle.
The Times’ Paul Joyce observed how much of Barry’s enjoyment of the day had been taken away.
Thierno Barry’s first thought should have been to seek acclaim after conjuring the goal that edged Everton beyond Ipswich Town and prolonged a hugely encouraging start to the season.
Instead, he stood deep in conversation with the referee Stuart Attwell at the final whistle, seemingly conveying the thoughts of the overwhelming majority inside Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The striker appeared angry and also perplexed at being denied a second goal as VAR’s vagaries intervened once more, ensuring a nervier ending than necessary for David Moyes’ side.
Barry believed he had added to his 11th-minute opener when directing an excellent header from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner into the net just before the hour-mark.
However, his celebrations were stifled when Attwell was advised by the VAR Andrew Kitchen to review the “goal” on his pitchside monitor with Brennan Johnson standing offside in front of the goalkeeper Christian Walton.
Walton had no chance of clawing away the attempt and did not muster any complaint, but the officials decreed in their wisdom that Johnson had impacted the goalkeeper’s ability to make a save.
He would have had to reinvent himself as a cross between Manuel Neuer and Neville Southall to justify that interpretation and a replay of the incident on the big screen inside the stadium left the home crowd livid.
Andy Hunter of the Guardian points out that Moyes’ men will be relieved that the controversial call did not cost them three points.
After the trials and tribulations of the transfer window, Everton can be content with fifth place, an unbeaten start and five clean sheets in seven games. There will also be relief, for Pro Ref as well as David Moyes, that another controversial call from a video assistant referee did not impede their progress against Ipswich.
Thierno Barry decided a close-fought contest with his fifth goal of the campaign. He should have had a sixth but an offside Brennan Johnson was adjudged to have impacted Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton’s ability to save a ball he made no attempt to save and was nowhere near saving.
Unlike last weekend’s Manchester derby, however, referee Stuart Attwell’s decision would not prove decisive. The game turned in Everton’s favour minutes later when Abdul Fatawu received a second yellow card for diving but, having failed to kill off Gary O’Neil’s 10 men, they ended up hanging on. VAR was therefore spared Moyes’ wrath.
Nathan Salt of the Daily Mail lamented those in Stockley Park dominating proceedings again.
Can we go just one week in the Premier League without VAR taking centre stage?
Here, on the banks of the River Mersey, with Everton rocking and rolling, Thierno Barry produced a brilliant header from near post to far post to make it 2-0 from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's corner.
The South Stand erupted, just as it had when Ainsley Maitland-Niles salvaged a point against Manchester United last time out here. Barry brought out the dance moves. Then came the dreaded big screen announcement of a VAR check.
Brennan Johnson was stood in front of Ipswich goalkeeper Christian Walton, drafted into the side with No 1 Kjell Scherpen dropped, and that was enough for VAR Andrew Kitchen and referee Stuart Atwell to rule it out.
Johnson was stood in an offside position, that much was correct. But to defiantly say he was interfering with Walton’s ability to make the save is not. Walton had hedged to his left as the ball flew into the other corner, way out of his reach, regardless of the Welshman stood on his toes.
However, our very own Joe Thomas, writing his final verdict as ECHO Everton correspondent, chose to focus on the positives.
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.
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.
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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.