Everton preserved their unbeaten start to the Premier League season but left the MKM Stadium with a sense of opportunity missed after drawing 2–2 with Hull City on Sunday. Goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry overturned a second-half deficit, only for the hosts to hit back.
The Blues started brightly, with James Garner testing Konstantinos Tzolakis, and thought they had gone ahead in the 34th minute through Brennan Johnson. After Harrison Armstrong’s effort was blocked, Johnson turned the ball home, only for a VAR review to cut short the celebrations.
The decision centred on Johnson’s position when Armstrong struck his initial shot. It was a contentious intervention: with a blocked effort and a loose ball involved. Everton could reasonably feel aggrieved by the outcome.
Hull struck three minutes after the restart when Joe Gelhardt capitalised on a move stemming from Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ loose touch. Everton responded seven minutes later, Maitland-Niles delivering the cross for Dewsbury-Hall to head home.
Dewsbury-Hall was involved again in the 68th minute, intercepting a pass to send Barry through. The striker finished emphatically for his sixth goal of the season, putting Everton within reach of victory.
Their advantage lasted just six minutes, however, as Mohamed Belloumi converted Elliot Stroud’s cutback. Moyes introduced attacking reinforcements in pursuit of a winner, but Everton had to settle for a point.
The result leaves the Blues unbeaten after six league games for the first time since 2013/14, extending their run to eight matches across all competitions. Yet Moyes’ frustration was understandable: Everton created six big chances, while their defending at both ends of Hull’s comeback proved costly. There was encouragement in their attacking response, but greater composure and defensive concentration could have turned another draw into a valuable victory.