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
RED CARD MYSTERY: WHAT DID DANIEL FARKE SAY TO THE REFEREE AT FULL-TIME?
Daniel Farke was sent off at full-time as Leeds United fell 1-0 to Man City despite multiple missed chances by Calvert-Lewin.
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Leeds United faced off against Manchester City under the Elland Road lights, hoping to keep their impressive home record alive. The atmosphere was electric, and Leeds started strong. Just four minutes in, they should've been ahead. Jayden Bogle slipped a perfect pass down the right, Brenden Aaronson whipped in a great ball, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin found himself unmarked six yards out. Somehow, he sent his shot wide.
That was only the beginning for Leeds. They kept creating chances. Calvert-Lewin spun past Marc Guehi in the box but fired narrowly wide. Aaronson had another go, poking a shot wide off another Bogle cross. Their best opportunity, aside from Calvert-Lewin’s miss, came when Anton Stach sent Aaronson through one-on-one. The American’s first touch let him down, and Gianluigi Donnarumma scooped up the ball.
City barely got a sniff early on, pressed back by Leeds’ energy. But once they settled, Pep Guardiola’s side found its feet and carved out a couple of decent openings. Filling in for the injured Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush forced a sharp save out of Karl Darlow with a low shot from the left. Seconds later, Nico O’Reilly wasted a free header, aiming it straight at Darlow.
Pascal Struijk then came up big, cutting out a dangerous Marmoush chance after O’Reilly sliced open the defence. The first half looked set to finish goalless until Rayan Cherki produced a bit of magic in stoppage time. He sliced through the Leeds back line with a gorgeous pass, finding Rayan Ait-Nouri down the left. Ait-Nouri’s cross found Antoine Semenyo, who crashed home from close range. City up 1-0 at the break.
No changes after halftime. Leeds kept pushing. Stach picked out Calvert-Lewin on the left, but Matheus Nunes blocked the shot, forcing a corner. City struck back with a quick chance of their own; Nunes crossed for Marmoush, who flashed his shot wide. Marmoush was in the thick of it again as the hour mark passed, stretching to meet a Ruben Dias cross-shot but sending it well wide.
City started turning the screw. Ait-Nouri smashed a shot just over the top corner, and Semenyo forced a deflection for a corner. From there, Darlow pulled off a brilliant save to deny Marc Guehi’s header.
Farke tried to shake things up. Lukas Nmecha came on for Aaronson, then Dan James and Willy Gnonto entered for Bogle and Gruev. Leeds switched to a back four and threw everything forward. Gnonto got stuck in right away, helping whip in a series of crosses as the crowd roared, desperate for an equaliser.
James swung in a beauty from the left, and late sub Jaka Bijol rose highest, but his header flew wide. That was Leeds’ last real chance. They threw bodies forward in the final minutes, but couldn’t find a way through and felt robbed when a strong penalty shout for handball went ignored.
City managed the final six minutes of stoppage time, hanging onto their narrow lead. Even then, the drama wasn’t over. As soon as the final whistle blew, Daniel Farke stormed onto the pitch to confront referee Peter Bankes. Bankes didn’t hesitate, flashing a red card and sending the Leeds boss off.
SCOTT PARKER LABELS LATE ASHLEY BARNES HANDBALL DECISION AS "SO HARSH."
Burnley 3-4 Brentford: Read Scott Parker’s reaction to the VAR drama, Ashley Barnes’ disallowed goal, and his "pure pride" today.
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Scott Parker couldn’t hide his pride, even after Burnley’s gut-wrenching loss to Brentford. He didn’t get too deep into the late VAR drama; either he just didn’t want to.
Honestly, that doesn’t even cover how wild this match was. Drama everywhere. Burnley had not one but two goals chalked off. They clawed their way back from three goals down, somehow levelled it at 3-3, only to see all that hard work undone at the very end.
When someone asked Parker if he felt robbed by those bizarre VAR calls (which dragged the game out forever), he just shrugged. “I’m not sure,” he said.
“We’ve had some tough results this year, and I’ve talked about disappointment and frustration before. I’ve probably even said I was proud of the team when we got a result.
“But today? Today, I just feel pure pride. More than ever, actually. I’m proud of these players, of everything they did out there.
“Sure, we picked our game apart. We were harsh at halftime, and we needed to be. We started slow. We were soft in too many moments. But the way this group responded – their spirit, their determination, the way they fought back – I can’t help but feel proud.”
After the final whistle, Burnley fans were furious. Ashley Barnes thought he’d equalised, but VAR ruled it out for an accidental handball. Watching the replays, nobody could say for sure whether the ball even touched his arm.
Parker didn’t have much to say on the incident. “Honestly, I haven’t even seen it back,” he said. “I caught it on the big screen. It looked like his hand was by his side.
“I don’t want to go too far; someone will quote me, and maybe I’m wrong, but it just feels so, so harsh.
“We scored five goals in about an hour, which is incredible when you think about it.
“We got ourselves back in it. But this is the world we’re in now. Everyone’s chasing perfection, whether it’s the game or just a photo you take of yourself. That’s football now.
“So, the first goal’s offside by a tiny margin. That’s just how it is. When you have the technology, you can always fall back on it. Well, it’s the correct decision. ’ Depends what you want, really. Yeah, it’s disappointing.”
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