David Moyes conceded his half-time tactical gamble backfired as Everton suffered a 4-2 home defeat to Brentford at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Igor Thiago's hat-trick and a Nathan Collins header put the visitors in control before Beto and Thierno Barry scored late consolations for the hosts.
The Everton manager made a double substitution at the interval, replacing Tyler Dibling and Dwight McNeil with Beto and Merlin Rohl and switching from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3. However, Brentford scored twice in the first six minutes of the second half to put the game beyond reach.
Moyes said: “We had to try and find another option at half-time and we felt that we would try and be as positive as we could. The game meant a lot to try to win it today, on the back of a good result in midweek. We didn't want to wait to 60 minutes, so we tried and took the risk, but obviously it backfired.”
The defeat was a major setback after a morale-boosting win at Nottingham Forest had lifted Everton to eighth in the table. With consecutive home games against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Moyes had seen an opportunity to build momentum for a European push, but those hopes now lie in tatters.
