By OkayGoal
Everton have beaten Newcastle United twice in four days. Thierno Barry’s tap-in four minutes into the second half settled a scrappy Monday night at St James’ Park 1-0, and David Moyes’ side climbed to seventh in the Premier League.
The Everton win came just four days after the 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over the same opponents at Hill Dickinson Stadium. It was also Everton’s third win in a row at St James’ Park, and the Blues kept a clean sheet against a Newcastle side that only really woke up in the last half hour.
Matthias Jaissle’s night ended badly. Substitute Jacob Ramsey was sent off in stoppage time for two quick bookings, and his side are left with two defeats to the same team in the same week.
How did Barry’s winner come about?
It was a goal Lukas Hornicek will want to forget. James Garner slid Tyrique George through the left channel, and the winger’s low shot squeezed through the Newcastle goalkeeper’s hands. Thierno Barry was waiting a yard out and could not miss.
That makes eight goals for the season for the Frenchman. It matters even more when you remember Everton have one senior striker and are only expected to look at loans and free transfers in January. Barry is carrying the load, and on Monday he was in the right place at the right time.
Moyes’ two changes from the cup win
Moyes made two changes from Thursday. Jarrad Branthwaite came back into central defence alongside captain James Tarkowski after missing two games under concussion protocols, following a clash of heads with Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez last month. Harrison Armstrong came into midfield instead of Hayden Hackney.
Branthwaite’s return pushed Jake O’Brien out to right-back, and Merlin Röhl, who played on the right of defence in the cup tie, moved up to right midfield ahead of Tyler Dibling. Jack Grealish was not match fit and was left out of the squad.
A first half Everton should have won
Newcastle started brightly enough. Harvey Barnes whipped in a couple of dangerous balls, one drifting inches wide of Jordan Pickford’s far post, and a William Osula cross took a deflection off Tarkowski that forced Pickford to adjust and save. In the 16th minute Joelinton turned and shot, only for Tarkowski to block, and Dan Burn headed the resulting corner off target.
After that, Everton had the better of it. Röhl drove a first-time shot over the bar, and Barry failed to make a clean contact from seven yards after Branthwaite headed a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall free-kick into his path. Joelinton did fire a 20-yard drive narrowly wide for the hosts.
The best chance of the half fell to Armstrong in added time. Dewsbury-Hall got free down the left and cut the ball back, but the midfielder screwed his first-time finish wide from 12 yards. Seconds earlier, a curling Dewsbury-Hall cross had just evaded O’Brien at the back post.
Newcastle 0-1 Everton: where did Jaissle’s side fall short?
Even after the goal, it was Everton pushing for more. Hornicek turned a Branthwaite header over the bar, saved a whipped Dewsbury-Hall shot from 25 yards and then kept out a goalbound O’Brien header from a Garner corner. Without those stops, this could have been a much heavier night for the Magpies.
Fabian Schär went close with a half-volley from distance, but Newcastle did very little to worry Pickford until the hour mark. Jaissle sent on Yoane Wissa and Sean Steur on 64 minutes, then Ramsey and Jacob Murphy on 76, and the pressure finally came.
Anthony Elanga came closest to an equaliser, squeezing the ball under Pickford, but it rolled along the line and Tarkowski booted it clear. Ramsey then drilled a shot inches past the post with 11 minutes left, and Osula flicked a header the wrong side of goal.
Pickford’s feet and Ramsey’s red
Eight minutes of stoppage time gave Newcastle one last chance. Pickford fielded a Wissa drive easily, then used his feet to keep out a close-range effort from the same player on the turn. That save earned Everton the three points.
Ramsey’s evening then got worse. He was booked twice in quick succession for late tackles on Hackney and Armstrong, and was shown red in the closing seconds.
Newcastle vs Everton line-ups
Newcastle United: Lukas Hornicek, Lewis Hall, Fabian Schär, Nico González (Sean Steur 64), Joelinton (Jacob Ramsey 76), William Osula, Harvey Barnes, Anthony Elanga (Jacob Murphy 76), Joe Willock (Yoane Wissa 64), Dan Burn (c), Amar Dedić (Bazoumana Touré 87). Unused subs: Nick Pope, Sven Botman, Aladji Bamba, Malick Thiaw.
Everton: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski (c), Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Garner, Armstrong, Dewsbury-Hall, Röhl, George, Barry. Subs: Travers, Maitland-Niles, Keane, Dibling, Johnson, Nørgaard, Alcaraz, Hackney, Graham.
Verdict: Everton have Newcastle’s number this season
Before the weekend, our Newcastle vs Everton preview looked at how Moyes had already got the better of Jaissle. Monday made it emphatic. This was not a classic, but Everton were the better side for most of it, and Pickford only had to be at his best in the final half hour.
For Newcastle, the worry is how little they created before the changes. Two defeats to the same opponent in a week, a goalkeeping error and a late red card is a tough run to explain, and the two clubs will keep crossing paths, with both said to be keen on the €40m Galatasaray midfielder in January. For Everton, seventh place, a clean sheet and a striker who keeps turning up feel like real progress. If Barry stays fit, Moyes might just get away with that one-striker squad until the window opens.