Everton 3-1 Coventry, Digi Mart USA News: Thierno Barry continued his fine form as his two goals and an assist fired Everton to a comeback 3-1 win over Coventry, who had three big VAR calls go against them on Merseyside.
Everton’s only available striker scored his ninth and 10th goals of the season in similar fashion, nodding in two headers at the back post after Yann Gboho had given Coventry the lead at the start of an dramatic second half. Officiating controversy dominated much of the game.
In the first half, James Tarkowski avoided punishment for an apparent hair pull on Caleb Yirenkyi in the penalty box. VAR referee Tim Wood checked the incident and cleared Tarkowski’s challenge on the Coventry midfielder, and the technology was needed again after half-time.
Taiwo Awoniyi ran through toward the box and went down under Vitalii Mykolenko’s challenge. VAR checked the foul and judged there was contact, but that it took place outside the penalty area, so no penalty was awarded.
Those two decisions initially appeared to matter little as Gboho scored his first Coventry goal, slaloming through challenges and poking the ball past Jordan Pickford. Four minutes later, Barry took over.
He headed in at the back post from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross to level the score.
A second, similar goal from Barry carried more controversy. He bundled the winner home amid accusations from Coventry that he used his hand in the move.
VAR said there was no conclusive angle showing the Everton forward handled the ball, and Wood said the contact had hit his side, so the on-field goal decision stood.
Barry then turned provider to seal the result, playing an eye-of-the-needle pass that released Dewsbury-Hall to fire in from a tight angle. The Everton midfielder responded well to being left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel earlier on Friday.
Coventry remain two points above the relegation zone and could drop into the bottom three by the end of the weekend. Everton have moved into fifth, leapfrogging Liverpool for at least 48 hours.
Coventry head coach Frank Lampard said the Tarkowski decision was checked and, on review, he pulled Yirenkyi’s hair while competing with Ethan Pinnock. Lampard said he believed the action should have been a foul and a penalty, and that the Awoniyi incident was a clear foul that the referee should have given on the field.
He also said Barry’s second goal came off his hand. “When big decisions change games, they absolutely do,” Lampard said.
“It’s disappointing. VAR is there for that and it didn’t do its job.”
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp said Everton were fortunate. He said the Yirenkyi and Awoniyi incidents should have been penalties, and that while the second Barry goal appeared to touch his hand, it was not clear and obvious enough for VAR to overturn it.
Everton head coach David Moyes said the performance did not reach the heights of recent matches but that three points were valuable. He credited Coventry, saying they had chances and could have changed the outcome.
Moyes added that he was bothered by the officiating because he wanted the result to be correct, noting recent decisions he felt had not gone Everton’s way.
