Everton goalscorer Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall talks the win over Crystal Palace, his own targets, Harrison Armstrong and the need to go further in the cup competitions
Goal 1-0 Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall #8 of Everton F.C. celebrates his goal during the Premier League match between Everton and Crystal Palace at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool on August 22, 2026. (Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall celebrates his stunning goal in Everton's opening day win over Crystal Palace (Image: Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
View 3 Images
Everton opening day hero Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall reckons it will be hard to take teenager Harrison Armstrong out of the team on his current form as he outlined the message the players have been told for the new campaign.
David Moyes’ men got 2026/27 off to a flier as they defeated UEFA Conference League winners Crystal Palace 2-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday with Dewsbury-Hall firing them ahead on 42 minutes before a header from Thierno Barry on 53 minutes wrapped up the three points.
And the midfielder said: “It was a good start, a win, clean sheet – we can’t ask for much more. It was a tough game, they’re a good team, we probably rode our luck at some points in the game.
“But it’s the Premier League and we have a keeper (Jordan Pickford) who, if we need him, can bail us out and he did at some points and I thought we showed some really good attacking play as well. We scored two really good goals and I thought we could have had one or two more so, in the end, a very deserved win.”
READ MORE: National media react to Everton win over Crystal Palace as David Moyes 'happy knack' noted
Following his £25million transfer from Chelsea last August, Dewsbury-Hall netted eight goals last term in the Premier League – a career high – so he was delighted to hit the ground running this time around and outlined how he wants to up his levels. Reflecting on his strike, he laughed: “It was all right, a bit of shank wasn’t it? No, a good finish.
“I know I have that quality, I’ll be honest I work on it every day, every week, so when I’m in that position I only had one thought in my mind and as soon as I hit it I thought ‘It’s got a chance’ and luckily it went in. I’m hoping I score a fair few more.
“My personal ambition is to do better than last year, as simple as that. I had a good year but I want to be better, I know I can be better.
“I’m happy to get off to a good start and happy the team won the first game, which we haven’t for a couple of years, so it lifts the mood a bit and gets us going into the week feeling confident. Hopefully we can continue the form.”
With six assists also to his name last season, Dewsbury-Hall made 14 goal contributions in total but he reckons he can elevate those figures this time around as he looks to improve. He said: “I just think it is my all-round game.
“Of course I want to keep scoring and assisting, that’s a big part of my game, but I want to help influence games without that as well, on and off the pitch. There are always things I can improve on, there was a lot of stuff I could have done a lot better last year and it’s nice to start well.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 22: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall of Everton scores their 1st goal during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Everton and Crystal Palace FC at Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall fires Everton in front against Crystal Palace with a superb shot (Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
View 3 Images
“That was my first 90 minutes pretty much and I was flagging towards the end but I’m happy I got that in my legs so heading into the next game I’ll be fresh.
“I haven’t got a specific target in my head but I want to be better than last season. That’s not just goals and assists, it’s my overall play in the game.
“A couple of years ago I probably wasn’t getting goals and assists but was very influential in play and I want to mix that together and when you do that that’s when you become a complete player, a complete midfielder.
“That’s what I’m working towards and I know I have the ability to do it so fingers crossed I do it. I know I can do more – it’s hard to explain but I know in my heart I can do more in games, whether that is scoring and assisting, dominating games, doing more off the ball causing problems, I just believe in my heart there is more to come.
“That’s why for me last season is done and this season is a complete new chapter, a new slate, and it’s about being better.”
Playing in the ‘number 10’ role as Everton’s most advanced central midfielder, Dewsbury-Hall had a rookie partnership behind him in the engine room. While Idrissa Gueye and James Garner were the regular combination last term, the Senegal international has left the club and the Blues’ Player of the Season is only just returning following groin surgery, coming on as a late substitute.
However, Dewsbury-Hall had plenty of praise for Everton’s home-grown hero Armstrong from West Derby. He said: “Harrison was exceptional today. He plays well beyond his years and he has that Everton spirit, which I love, and he has an engine on him, he runs all day.
“If he keeps playing like that it will be hard to take it out of the team. I thought Hayden (Hackney) as well, on his Premier League debut, was exceptional.
“We’ve had a nice little partnership in there in pre-season, it’s been bubbling along nicely and happy today it continued.”
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - AUGUST 22: Harrison Armstrong of Everton is tackled by Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace during the Premier League 2026/27 match between Everton and Crystal Palace FC at Hill Dickinson Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Harrison Armstrong of Everton is tackled by Daichi Kamada of Crystal Palace(Image: Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
View 3 Images
Everton’s 3-0 victory over Dewsbury-Hall’s previous employers Chelsea, on March 21, left them just three points off a Champions League qualification place. However, they failed to win any of their last seven matches and plummeted to finish 13th in the Premier League table for the second consecutive year, missing out on European qualification altogether.
Speaking to Roger Bennett at a Men in Blazers live event at Hill Dickinson Stadium last week, Dewsbury-Hall outlined his frustrations over their end-of-season slump, so he was relieved to get back to winning ways straight away.
Also speaking last week, chief executive Angus Kinnear outlined last week the importance of aiming for cup success, citing Newcastle United and Crystal Palace’s recent triumphs and remarking: “We have definitely had discussions with ownership and with David [Moyes] about how we use the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup to give something for the fans to really cheer and get behind and be proud of.”
Although only Liverpool and Manchester United can top Everton’s record of winning major trophies across nine separate decades, their current silverware drought, which has extended into a 32nd year, is the longest in their history. Out of the current first-team squad, only captain James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Christian Norgaard, Pickford and third-choice keeper Tom King were even born when Joe Royle’s Blues side defeated Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United 1-0 in the 1995 FA Cup final.
The message to improve in knockout competitions – Moyes’ injury-hit team were dumped out of the FA Cup at the first time of asking by Sunderland last season while they fell at the second hurdle to Wolverhampton Wanderers after making seven changes at Molineux in the Carabao Cup – has also been relayed to the players.
Dewsbury-Hall said: “It was a long, long summer. A lot of thoughts and processing things and, I’ll be honest, pre-season was long for me and I was just earmarking this game.
“It’s nice to start the season well and have a positive mood in the camp. I thought we were getting better in pre-season but it’s almost peaked now at the right time.
“We have another game in midweek and we want to go deep in a cup competition this year, that’s a message we’ve had, and hopefully we do that.”
Everton kick-off their Carabao Cup campaign away to Preston North End on Wednesday (8pm kick-off).