Thierno Barry scored a hat-trick as Everton cruised to a 4-0 win at Preston North End, capping a week of personal redemption for the France youth international. The 23-year-old forward, who struggled last season, opened his account for the campaign with a strike in the win over Crystal Palace before adding three more at Deepdale.
Barry's all-round display went beyond the goals, offering hope that his understanding of the game and his role within it is improving. That is crucial for an Everton side that places a heavy burden on their frontman.
Link-up play and vision
The best example of his growing connection with team-mates 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.
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.
Signs of improvement
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.
Match details and other positives
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.
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.
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.
Barry 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. He deserved the cheers as he held the ball and took in the Blues fans' adoration at the end.
