Sports

Everton’s Barry Double Secures Win Over Coventry, Moyes Reaches 592 Matches

By Mohamed Saeed

Everton’s recent form continued at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the team overcoming a sluggish start that left them behind after a Yann Gboho goal early in the second half. Thierno Barry then turned the game around in a five‑minute spell, scoring twice to keep the momentum. The victory marked Everton’s third win on the bounce across all competitions, following two defeats to Newcastle. It also gave manager David Moyes his 592nd match in charge, equalling Harry Catterick’s long‑standing record. The win was achieved despite the absence of Jack Grealish, who remains sidelined after a disciplinary breach.

Barry’s brace came in the 56th and 61st minutes. In the first, he headed a Vitaliy Mykolenko cross past Carl Rushworth. Five minutes later, he capitalised on a rebound to put Everton ahead, a goal that was upheld by VAR after Coventry protested a possible handball. Barry also set up Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall for a clinical finish from a tight angle.

Moyes had earlier joked that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland should be worried about the competition for the Premier League’s top scorer, a comment that came after Barry’s 10 goals in all competitions this season, placing him just behind Haaland among English top‑flight players.

Coventry manager Frank Lampard expressed frustration over several contentious refereeing decisions. In the first half, James Tarkowski appeared to pull Caleb Yirenkyi’s hair inside the penalty area, an incident that went unpunished. In the second half, a challenge by Mykolenko on Taiwo Awoniyi was ruled just outside the area, denying Coventry a potential spot‑kick. The result leaves Coventry 16th in the table, having lost three of their last four matches.