David Moyes speaks after the Premier League clash with West Ham United
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David Moyes gestures on the touchline during the English Premier League football match between Everton and West Ham United at Goodison Park in Liverpool, north west England on March 15, 2025
(Image: DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
David Moyes is urging Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski to follow Jake O’Brien’s lead and become a threat in the opposition box.
The towering 23-year-old, who returned to the Republic of Ireland set-up this week, grabbed a late equaliser to extend Everton’s unbeaten run to nine Premier League games.
It was his second goal since Moyes’ return led to him being given a new opportunity in the starting XI, while he also came closest for the Blues in the first half when he tested Alphonse Areola from distance.
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Moyes has been calling on his centre backs to add goals to their game and while Tarkowski scored the stunning stoppage time leveller against Liverpool last month, neither that goal nor either of O’Brien’s have come from set pieces.
Moyes said of O’Brien’s growing attacking contribution: “He is beginning to get a couple of goals and I'm moaning at Tarky and Jarrad to start getting more goals - but with our deliveries from set-pieces today, there was no chance them they could score from them, they were so poor.
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“But I have to say that I'm pleased for big Jake, he's coming on, improving. He's a young centre-back, making his way a little bit as a false right-back in some ways. But he's doing a good job and I'm pleased he got the goal. He's capable of it and it was an important goal for us.”
Of the summer signing from Lyon, he said work was continuing to use him out wide - though the plan is to eventually bring him into a central position. Moyes said: “We've tried to play him in a little bit of a hybrid role. I thought the way West Ham played today meant that he had to go and join in and actually play much higher up the pitch and nearly be like an attacking full-back.
“We're talking about a young centre-back and it actually hindered the way we played a little bit in the first half. I didn't think we could really sort of damage West Ham enough and we needed to be a bit better. But we got there and we got a point in the end.”