JUST IN: DAVID MOYES HAILS DEWSBURY-HALL’S PERFORMANCE AS "BEST SINCE INJURY RETURN."
Everton win a 3-2 thriller: Read how Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Jordan Pickford inspired a seventh away victory at St James’ Park.
David Moyes couldn’t stop praising Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Even as Dewsbury-Hall made his way to the bench, Moyes followed, still full of compliments. If this match had been at Goodison Park, 50,000 Everton fans would’ve been on their feet, cheering him on. But this was an away game, and everyone – Moyes, his staff, and the 3,000 travelling supporters – was focused on holding their nerve and seeing the job through. Eight tense minutes and one brilliant Jordan Pickford save later, they were all celebrating Everton’s seventh away win of the season.
Plenty of Royal Blue shirts deserved credit for that, but Pickford’s heroics behind enemy lines stood out. Still, Dewsbury-Hall really pulled the strings. He's become the heartbeat of Moyes’ Everton.
When Jacob Murphy’s scruffy volley deflected past Pickford in the 83rd minute, Everton could’ve let their heads drop. Newcastle had thrown everything at them in the second half, pinning them back, but Everton handled the pressure with surprising composure.
Murphy’s goal came after Newcastle’s second equaliser of the afternoon. Pickford was left stranded when an Everton defender’s desperate block awkwardly redirected the ball past him.
At that point, you’d bet on Newcastle going for the win. Dewsbury-Hall had other plans.
Home fans were still celebrating when Dewsbury-Hall, the former Chelsea man, burst through a crowd of black and white shirts, driving deep into the box. He sent in a cross that landed perfectly for Thierno Barry, who bundled it in, which sparked wild celebrations among the Everton fans tucked high up in St James’ Park.
What made this response so impressive was that it wasn’t the first time Everton had bounced back. They’d taken the lead in the 20th minute when Jarrad Branthwaite powered home James Garner’s corner. After a frustrating effort against Manchester United on Monday, where Everton barely tested Senne Lammens, it took just one well-worked set piece for the story to change. Branthwaite’s header ricocheted in off the post after a lively start.
Fifteen minutes later, Newcastle pulled level. You could see it coming, but there was still a big slice of luck: Jacob Ramsey’s shot took a deflection off Branthwaite and left Pickford helpless.
But Everton didn’t sulk. Within two minutes, they were back in front. Dwight McNeil, making a surprise return to the starting lineup after his Crystal Palace move fell through, let fly from distance. Nick Pope parried but spilt the ball right into the path of Beto, who didn’t hesitate, just like he did against Brighton.
Beto was a constant menace. He bullied Malick Thiaw all afternoon, beating him in the air and on the ground. Moyes was left with his head in his hands at one point, though Beto shrugged off Thiaw near the halfway line, raced clear, and hammered a shot past Pope, only to see it crash off the crossbar.
It felt like one of those moments that could haunt Everton, especially when Murphy made it 2-2. Not this time.
Pickford’s incredible save from Sandro Tonali’s stoppage-time volley kept Everton in front – a full-blooded strike that Pickford somehow pushed onto the woodwork. Dewsbury-Hall did his part too, surging forward after Murphy’s goal to set up the winner and getting stuck in all over the pitch. He even threw himself in front of Anthony Gordon’s shot from a distance and twice made sure Tonali knew he couldn’t bully Garner off the ball without a fight.
When Newcastle threatened to overwhelm Everton, Dewsbury-Hall calmed his teammates and led by example. Moyes loves him, the fans are quickly following, and when Everton play well, Dewsbury-Hall is usually at the centre of it. His passing range kept turning defence into attack, and Moyes later called it his best display since coming back from the hamstring injury that wrecked his Christmas.
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye played their part, as did Garner back in his favourite central midfield role. McNeil won the ball back in his own half to start the move that led to Branthwaite’s goal and linked play smartly in midfield. Vitalii Mykolenko dealt with Newcastle’s set pieces again and again, while
SUNDERLAND CONDEMNS "VILE" RACIST ABUSE AIMED AT BRIAN BROBBEY AFTER SPURS WIN
Brian Brobbey targeted online! Sunderland and the Premier League unite against "vile" discrimination after Spurs win.
Sunderland called out the racist abuse aimed at Brian Brobbey on social media and made it clear they stand fully behind him.
Brobbey was targeted online right after Sunderland’s 1-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday. On Monday, the club released a statement: “Sunderland condemns in the strongest possible terms the racist abuse directed at Brian Brobbey on social media following Sunday’s fixture against Tottenham. We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support.”
Sadly, this isn’t the first time Sunderland players have had to deal with this kind of abuse this season. After February’s match against Fulham, Romaine Mundle received hateful messages online, and last month the Tyne-Wear derby had to be paused when someone in the crowd reportedly aimed abuse at Lutsharel Geertruida.
The club’s statement continued: “This isn’t an isolated event. The recent abuse aimed at Romaine Mundle and Lutsharel Geertruida shows just how often and how unacceptably this keeps happening, both at matches and on the internet. We’ve reported this latest incident to the Premier League, the social media platforms, and the police, and we expect them to act quickly against the people responsible. Racism is vile, and it doesn’t belong in football or anywhere else. We’ll keep calling it out, clearly and without hesitation, every time it happens. Football should be safe and welcoming for everyone, no exceptions.”
The Premier League is backing Brobbey as well. In a post on their X account, they said they’re “disgusted by the ongoing discrimination” players keep facing online. “We stand alongside Sunderland in strongly condemning the online racist abuse Brian Brobbey has received and have offered our full support to him and the club. We are disgusted by the ongoing discrimination players are facing on social media and are committed to working with clubs, authorities, law enforcement, and social media companies to address this issue, as well as supporting investigations to bring those responsible to justice.
Anyone found guilty of discrimination will face the toughest possible punishments: jail time, football bans, and even a criminal record.”
DAVID MOYES REVEALS "NERVES" AS EVERTON HUNT HISTORIC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFICATION SPOT
David Moyes admits Everton's Champions League hunt is nerve-wracking. See the latest on the Toffees' battle for Europe.
David Moyes admits the idea of Everton making the Champions League this soon in their rebuild actually makes him “shake a wee bit.”
You look at the club now, and it's hard to believe where they were just 14 months ago. When Moyes returned, Everton looked beaten down from years of fighting to stay up. Suddenly, with only seven games left, they’re sitting eighth. That spot could mean Europa Conference League football, but after their win against Chelsea before the break, they’re now just three points off fourth. It’s wild to even talk about the Champions League, but it’s right there in reach.
Reporters put the question to him how does it feel to be this close? With Europe’s spots possibly extending down to fifth (or maybe even further, depending on how other English clubs do), Moyes wasn’t hiding his nerves: “It’s probably the best shot we’ve had in a long time. But when I hear ‘Champions League’? Makes me shake a wee bit, honestly. I’ve been lucky to manage in Europe’s other competitions lately, and if we do make it, I’m sure we’d be able to hold our own at certain stages. Still, the Champions League is just on another level.”
Everton’s next match at Brentford looks huge for their European dreams. Brentford beat them earlier in the season, and right now, both teams are level, separated only by goal difference.
Moyes is clearly enjoying this chapter. “Listen, Europe’s Europe. If someone had said at the start, ‘You’re going to get European football,’ we’d have snapped their hand off. It could be the tiddlywinks European cup, and we’d be up for it. Evertonians want the club back in those conversations. We’re getting attention for the new stadium, we’ve got a couple of England internationals getting noticed more, it’s a good time. If we do sneak into the Champions League, it’d be an unbelievable achievement. But honestly, no matter which competition we make, it’s still a big step forward for us.”
