Thierno Barry double turns the game as Everton beat Coventry City
Everton came from behind to beat Coventry City 3-1 on Matchday 10, with Thierno Barry scoring twice and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall adding a late third.
By Harvey Watkins,
Everton beat Coventry City 3-1 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday night. They fell behind early in the second half and then took control of the match in a short spell. Thierno Barry scored twice to turn it around, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall settled it in the closing stages.
All of the goals came after the interval. The first half ended goalless, and it was Coventry City who opened the scoring.
Gboho gave Coventry City the lead
Yann Gboho scored on 52 minutes to put the visitors in front. On the road, in the opening exchanges of the second half, it was the kind of goal that can shape the rest of an evening.
It did shape it, but not in Coventry City's favour. Their lead was brief, and the goal turned out to be the high point of their night.
Barry's quick double changed the match
Everton were level on 56 minutes. Barry scored the equaliser, and on 61 minutes he struck again to put the home side ahead.
That spell decided the match. Within ten minutes of falling behind, Everton were leading. Whatever advantage Coventry City had taken from scoring first was gone almost as soon as they had it.
The final score is what will be remembered. Still, the order of events matters more for anyone weighing up either side. Everton conceded, did not let the setback linger, and scored the next goals in quick succession.
Dewsbury-Hall made sure late on
At 2-1, the match stayed open for a long stretch. A single Coventry City goal would have brought them level again. That chance ended on 81 minutes, when Dewsbury-Hall scored Everton's third.
Coventry City did not score again after Gboho's opener. From the moment Barry equalised, every goal in the match belonged to the home side.
What the result shows, and what it does not
A 3-1 home win looks comfortable written down. The way it unfolded suggests something more contested. For more than half the match there was nothing between the sides, and for a few minutes after the interval Coventry City were winning.
Everton's response is the clearest thing to take from the night. Plenty of sides go behind at home and struggle to recover. Everton recovered quickly, through the same player twice, and then added a third to remove any doubt in the closing ten minutes.
For Coventry City, the positive is that they took the lead away from home in the Premier League. The concern is what followed. The lead lasted only a few minutes, and they could not find a way back once they had fallen behind.
One match is a narrow basis for judging either team, and this one turned on a short passage of play early in the second half. What can be said with confidence is that Barry was the difference on the night. His goals on 56 and 61 minutes took a match Everton were losing and put them in front, and Dewsbury-Hall's late finish turned a narrow lead into a clear win.