The Everton verdict as the Blues earned a brilliant win over Newcastle United - their fourth
Jarrard Branthwaite of Everton celebrates with Jordan Pickford (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Jarrard Branthwaite of Everton celebrates with Jordan Pickford (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
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For the third time in 18 months, Everton’s players celebrated a win at St James’ Park with the “Jordan Pickford is dynamite” chant being belted out by the travelling supporters, tucked away ‘up in the gods’ of the enormous Leazes End at Newcastle United.
The England number one book-ended this hat-trick of victories with a couple of clean sheets to silence his Geordie baiters and haters and while he conceded two deflected efforts in the match in between, he still managed to pull off the Premier League save of the season with his stunning finger-tip effort to keep out Sandro Tonali’s volley in the dying seconds.
That was Everton’s last away success in the Premier League on February but they have now defeated the Magpies four times this calendar year. This was the first occasion that David Moyes’ men failed to put three goals past Newcastle but the victory was just as sweet as any of the previous occasions.
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On their success here in May last year, the Blues’ triumph came against the surreal backdrop of their defeated hosts still clinching qualification for UEFA’s leading club competition as the Champions League anthem was cranked out over the stadium’s public address system after Eddie Howe’s charges, who had ended their 70-year wait for a domestic trophy a couple of months earlier by beating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley.
Now it’s Evertonians who dream of a first-ever success in a competition that has existed since 1960/61 but they have never lifted. With their 3-1 win over Newcastle at Hill Dickinson Stadium just four nights earlier teeing up a trip to League Two Fleetwood Town, they should at least by guaranteed a place in a semi-final.
Those halcyon days, bought by the sovereign wealth fund of the royal house of Saud, already feel a long time ago, under head coach Matthias Jaissle who has himself arrived via the desert kingdom and looks like one of those legion of Premier League rookie bosses who has serious question marks over his credentials. The natives are restless here – and that’s just in the Press Box – and as for the Toon Army themselves, they booed their side off at half-time but by the final whistle sounded, the fight seemed to have been sucked out of them.
In contrast, Moyes, the division’s elder statesman and most experienced manager is using all his nous to stay in the game despite the ridiculous hand The Friedkin Group dealt him with the way the summer transfer window ended. Having just 18 outfield players, including solitary options at striker, right-back and left-back is bad enough but right now their highest-paid squad member and England’s first £100million footballer Jack Grealish remains unavailable.
The Glaswegian gaffer – who picked up a second yellow card in as many Premier League matches himself here for dissent – declared afterwards that it remains to be seen whether Grealish will be considered for selection against Coventry City on Friday but Everton have won two crucial back-to-back matches without the 31-year-old who is being left out after an unauthorised absence from training.
Such is the nature of the table right now, the Blues went into this fixture just three points above the relegation zone but they are now up to seventh and if they were to defeat Frank Lampard’s Coventry City on Friday night, they could even climb above neighbours Liverpool into the top five.
Make no bones about it, this was no smash and grab in the Tyneside rain and in truth, Everton should have triumphed by a larger margin. There were a couple of changes of personnel from Thursday with Jarrad Branthwaite, having served his concussion protocol, being restored to the heart of defence, and Harrison Armstrong, who has started all Premier League games this season, back in the engine room.
In turn, Branthwaite’s restoration had the knock-on effect of moving two other players into new positions. With no Andy Burnham watching on, after he followed up cheering the Blues to victory against Wolves with his Canadian opposite number Mark Carney by watching
Thursday’s Carabao Cup triumph over Newcastle, Moyes felt bold enough to go against the Prime Minister’s plea on the eve of the season and start Jake O’Brien at right-back for the first time this term with Merlin Rohl pushing up to right-wing.
Armstrong again showed why he’s become such a regular in this side and if only he could shoot, he’d be a potential world-beater. On March 25 2014, at the same Gallowgate End of the ground, this correspondent was privileged enough to see Ross Barkley, who was only five months older than the West Derby prospect is now, score one of the great individual goals by an Everton player. However, when a golden opportunity fell to Armstrong from around 12 yards out with the final kick of the first half, he fired his effort wide.
Instead, it was Thierno Barry who again proved the match-winner at the other end of St James’ Park for the second time this year. Previously, he had come off the bench to secure a 3-2 victory with an effort that hit the right cheek of his backside – as myself and fellow contestants Joe Thomas and Gavin Buckland all correctly remembered in Ian Croll’s end of season Royal Blue quiz.
This time around it was a tap-in from even more point-blank range, as, just four minutes into the second half, the otherwise impressive Lukas Hornicek who had kept the hosts in the contest with a string of saves, allowed Tyrique George’s effort to squirm through his fingers. This term, Barry is the main man up front and he has now matched his scoring total for 2025/26 with his eighth goal not arriving until May 4 when he bagged a brace against Manchester City and that in itself should be enough to make Blues smile.
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What should Everton do with Jack Grealish?
Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Jack Grealish (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Cancel his loan spell immediately or in January