Two goals, an assist and three more points. Thierno Barry delivered when we needed him, turning a frustrating evening into a third successive victory and sending us into the international break with plenty to smile about.
On David Moyes’ record-equalling 592nd game in charge, Everton recovered from a goal down to beat Coventry at Hill Dickinson Stadium. It wasn’t always pretty, but fifth place heading into the weekend is a thoroughly enjoyable reward.
We certainly took our time getting there. Promising early openings gave way to a disjointed first half, with Jordan Pickford needed to deny Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. When Yann Gboho put the visitors ahead in the 52nd minute, there could be few complaints about the need to improve.
What followed was exactly the response we wanted.
Four minutes later, Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross found Barry, whose header brought us level. By the 61st minute, the turnaround was complete. Tyrique George supplied the delivery this time, and Barry bundled the ball over the line for his tenth goal of the season. There was little elegance about the finish, but nobody needs style marks from a centre-forward putting Everton ahead.
There were decisions Coventry will feel aggrieved about. James Tarkowski escaped punishment for a hair-pulling incident, Mykolenko’s contact with Taiwo Awoniyi was judged outside the box, and Barry’s second survived a handball review. We had some calls go our way. We also had a striker ready to make the most of his chances and a side capable of responding when the game threatened to slip away.
Barry saved his best creative contribution for the third. With nine minutes remaining, his through ball released Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who smashed past Carl Rushworth from a tight angle. Having missed out on England’s squad earlier in the day, the midfielder offered a timely reminder of his quality. More immediately, he allowed us to breathe again.
There is plenty for Moyes to improve on from that first hour. Winning while leaving room for improvement, though, is a position we’ll happily take.
Three wins on the bounce, Barry into double figures and another weekend made better before Saturday had even arrived.