James Tarkowski believes Everton produced their best performance of the season as David Moyes‘ side secured an impressive 1-0 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Monday evening.
Thierno Barry‘s second-half winner was enough to secure all three points for the Blues, who followed up their Carabao Cup victory over the Magpies with another impressive result on Tyneside.
Speaking after the game, Tarkowski was full of praise for his teammates and felt Everton’s performance deserved an even greater margin of victory.
“I think it is probably our best performance of the season. I thought we were terrific in the first half and could have scored two or three, and it was more of the same in the second half.”
The Everton defender also reserved special praise for match-winner Barry, who continues to shoulder the responsibility of leading the line as the club’s only recognised striker.
“Barry gets the goal again for us. There is a lot on his shoulders because he is our only recognised striker but he keeps turning up.
“He is harsh on himself at times so I’m trying to praise him more. He is on his own up there a lot, his numbers are through the roof on running.”
Tarkowski’s comments offer an insight into the demands being placed on Barry, whose contribution extends well beyond his goalscoring.
The Frenchman has faced scrutiny at various stages of his Everton career, but his willingness to work tirelessly for the team has clearly not gone unnoticed among his teammates.
With Everton lacking an alternative recognised centre-forward, Barry’s continued development and ability to deliver in front of goal could prove increasingly important as the season progresses.
At the other end of the pitch, Tarkowski was equally pleased with Everton’s defensive display, with the Blues keeping Newcastle at bay to secure a welcome clean sheet.
“A clean sheet is massive for us on a night like tonight. We’ve not had a lot recently so it feels good.”
The victory lifts Everton into the top half of the Premier League table and provides further encouragement that Moyes’ side can begin looking upwards.
However, Tarkowski was reluctant to get carried away by the result, insisting that Everton must maintain their focus and take the season one game at a time.
“I don’t want to look at the season until the end of the season but it is nice to be in the top half and chasing the team above us.
“It is a long old season and there will be plenty of setbacks down the line so we take it game-by-game. Tonight feels good so we can enjoy it.”
For Everton, the challenge now is turning performances like this into a more consistent feature of their season.
But after two victories over Newcastle in the space of five days, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
And if Monday evening really was Everton’s best performance of the campaign so far, as Tarkowski believes, the hope will be that there is still more to come from Moyes’ Blues.