The Joe Thomas verdict from the Amex Stadium after Everton rescued a 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion thanks to Beto's injury-time equaliser
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: David Moyes, Manager of Everton, and players of Everton celebrate following the team's draw in the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton at Amex Stadium on January 31, 2026 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
David Moyes and his Everton players salute the travelling supporters after the dramatic 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion(Image: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
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“What a f***ing joke,” a Brighton supporter yelled as he left the stands. Eight rows of seats beneath him, David Moyes was gathering his breath having just crept off the pitch he had sprung onto, dancing and jumping with joy at Beto’s last-gasp equaliser.
Everton’s number nine, in the distance, thumped his chest before taking his shirt off and climbing into a jubilant away end that swallowed up the birthday boy in an outpouring of pride and relief. On the halfway line, Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba sat with his head in his hands as more of his supporters headed towards the concourses cursing a Blues side that once again left them stunned.
This was not the battling, hard-fought three points that signalled the fanbase had their club back almost 12 months ago to the day. Nor was it the stunning 5-1 shock victory that did so much to save Everton from relegation under Sean Dyche. And there will be critics who will say a point at Brighton should not warrant such celebration, not when a win would have done so much to burnish the club’s European credentials.
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But that would be a harsh take after a game in which an experimental Blues side began to show menace before being hit with a sucker punch with 15 minutes to go.
This match appeared set to end in defeat for Moyes’ men when Pascal Gross steered in a Yasin Ayari cross from 15 yards after a clever dummy from Charalampos Kostoulas.
Jordan Pickford’s net bulged just seconds after it looked as though Bart Verbruggen would be picking the ball from his own, only for James Tarkowski's header to be inadvertently cleared off the line by Jake O’Brien.
It felt a cruel setback given Everton had looked the more threatening of the teams after the break, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall shooting narrowly wide from just inside the box and then firing straight at Verbruggen’s legs from close range when teed up by Thierno Barry. Jarrad Branthwaite also flicked a header wide of the far post.
Those chances were created by a much-improved Blues team that was fortunate to get in at the break level.
The hosts had started brightly and saw Danny Welbeck glance a header just wide as he stole between Everton’s towering backline at a corner before Kaoru Mitoma dinked the ball over Pickford but just wide of the post from Brighton's best opportunity midway through the half.
Much of the opening 45 minutes was a stalemate though, with Moyes’ deployment of four centre backs across the defence - a move he later said he had had in mind for some time but was influenced on Saturday by a knock picked up by Vitalii Mykolenko - allowing the visitors to defend the box with relative ease.
Further up the pitch, the Blues had little joy and the loss of Jack Grealish, probably for the rest of the season, was keenly felt again.
Harrison Armstrong, playing on the right, was composed against a technically proficient Brighton side and Iliman Ndiaye tried to threaten down the left. But this was still a jarring performance from a group of players that included Dewsbury-Hall and Branthwaite returning from long-term injury, Michael Keane from a three-match ban and Idrissa Gueye and Ndiaye playing after their successful and emotional excursions at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
Given so many of his players - including subs Tim Iroegbunam and Carlos Alcaraz - are building up their match fitness, this will come as a satisfying point for Moyes and Everton.
That much was clear as he skipped down the touchline as the away end erupted upon Beto’s late goal.
It was an uncharacteristically ruthless finish from the forward that came after he knocked down James Garner’s cross to O’Brien, whose vicious effort was spilled by Verbruggen.
Beto pounced onto the loose ball and then, moments later, leapt into the away end as they serenaded him.
Moyes later argued it was a deserved equaliser and did so with justification - just do not expect the home supporters to agree after they left the Amex after more disappointment at the hands of the Blues.
This was not an eleventh win on the road - but in many ways it felt like one.