Joe Thomas with the Everton verdict from Deepdale as Thierno Barry stars in the 4-0 Carabao Cup win over Preston North End
PRESTON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: Thierno Barry of Everton holds the match ball after his hatrick in the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Preston North End and Everton at Deepdale on August 26, 2026 in Preston, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Thierno Barry keeps tight hold of the match ball after scoring his first hat-trick for Everton in the 4-0 Carabao Cup win at Preston North End (Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
View Image
The headlines will point to Thierno Barry grabbing the match ball, but the wider story is even more satisfying. The Everton forward, who ended the night being serenaded by a jubilant away end, showed signs of improvement through the summer and crowned his rise with an opening day strike in the win over Crystal Palace.
It was met with smiles from the France youth international and an ovation from the Blues supporters as a player who struggled on and off the pitch last season found immediate redemption at the start of his second campaign on Merseyside.
The positive signs continued against Preston North End and went beyond his impressive hat-trick at Deepdale. His all-round display offered hope he is not just gaining in prowess, but that his understanding of the game and his role within it is also improving.
That is crucial for an Everton side that places a heavy burden on their frontman. There were times against Palace, like last season, when he drifted out of the game and, when the ball found him, he struggled to make it count.
This might have been against Championship opposition but there were clear indications that he is starting to gel with those around him. The best example came from his cute ball to play through Brennan Johnson for his first goal for the Blues and the team's fourth of the night.
Minutes earlier, substitute Johnson had crossed for Barry to complete his hat-trick on a heady night for a player who scored eight goals in total last season.
Another was his pass through to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at the start of the second half, when he salvaged a poor ball from Iliman Ndiaye to keep an attack flowing. He had the vision to understand Dewsbury-Hall, whose effort was blocked by Preston goalkeeper Lee Nicholls, was in a better position to shoot.
Barry's link-up play made marking him tough for the home defence, his work with his back to goal bringing the likes of Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Johnson and Tyler Dibling into the game around him.
He remains raw and, at times, clumsy - he scuffed the best chance of the early stages when he was played through on goal. But he is showing signs of becoming the focal point at the top of the pitch Everton need - a thumping near-post header from an Ndiaye cross belying a seemingly new-found aerial threat that suggested his close-range header on Saturday was no one-off.
When Dewsbury-Hall’s effort was pushed by Nicholls against Barry and bounced in to end this tie as a contest on the hour mark, Barry was due the luck that came his way. He made no mistake when Johnson gave him the opportunity to make this a dream night later in the half, before he returned the favour.
The 23-year-old’s improvement matters for the Blues. In a week in which Moyes favourite Liam Delap advanced on a move to Nottingham Forest, preventing a late bid by Everton that had felt inevitable for most of the summer, questions remain about the firepower at the manager's disposal.
Any incomings in the final days of the transfer window will likely depend on whether a suitor can be found for Beto, who now appears to be a clear understudy to his younger team-mate and is in the final year of his contract. He was an unused substitute and ended the night handing his match shirt into the crowd.
Barry’s start to the campaign at least offers hope for Everton that they can look within for genuine improvement on last season.
There were other signs of promise for the Blues boss in the away dugout, with Dibling providing a lively threat in the early stages, while James Garner - who Moyes had said was not ready to start after the Palace game - was brought into the first XI to deal with the absence of Hayden Hackney, who missed out with what the club said was a “minor knock”.
That Everton were able to seize control of this match by the hour mark allowed Moyes to make changes, protecting Garner from further strain and offering minutes to Johnson as well as Nathan Patterson.
The match opened up as a result and Jordan Pickford saved well from a Callum Lang overhead kick before Ndiaye was denied by an excellent late challenge when he appeared to be clear through on goal. He had been played in by Vitalii Mykolenko, who provided genuine attacking support under the floodlights. But any hope the hosts had of finding a way back was snuffed out by Barry and Johnson with 20 minutes to go.
The Blues had led at the break through Barry’s goal and, while their advantage was slender at that stage, it was deserved. The visitors started this game with intent, a strong line-up by Moyes that included just three changes from the win over Palace playing with the superiority their quality warranted.
Everton won three corners within the first 10 minutes with one of the players introduced to the side, Dibling, looking lively. The 20-year-old, unused against Palace after a promising summer, showed the confidence to run at players and was the first to test Nicholls.
Preston were forced back for the early stages but James Tarkowski made an important block during a rare foray forward that ended in a shot from Delano Burgzorg. The Blues responded immediately only for Barry to scuff his effort when played through on goal.
He made no mistake 10 minutes later when a gorgeous Dewsbury-Hall ball drifted over the defence and into the path of Mykolenko, who continued his run into the box before unselfishly squaring to Barry to slot in.
Everton continued to pose a threat but escaped on the cusp of half-time when Leo Leroy fired over when Merlin Rohl misjudged a ball to Burgzorg, who collected it and took it to the byline before pulling it back to his team-mate.
Nothing was going to steal the limelight from Barry, however. He deserved the cheers as he held the ball and took in the Blues fans’ adoration at the end.