Thierno Barry Strikes Late to Earn Everton Point Against Leeds

Everton striker Thierno Barry continued his impressive run of form by scoring a late equaliser to salvage a 1-1 Premier League draw against Leeds on Monday night.

David Moyes’ side trailed at the break after James Justin gave the visitors the lead, prompting boos from sections of the home crowd at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, Barry restored parity with a composed finish 14 minutes from time to ease the mounting frustration among Everton supporters.

The 23-year-old has now scored four goals in his last five league appearances, a sharp contrast to his early struggles following his move from Villarreal, having managed just one goal in his first 18 Premier League outings.

“If you’re a centre-forward, you need to score goals, and he wasn’t doing that at the start,” Moyes said.
“He’s improving, he’s training well and getting used to scoring. We still need to create more chances, and we’re working to get our attacking players fully fit again.

“I was really pleased with the reaction. We’ve got a strong group who demand high standards from each other.”

Everton remain 10th in the table, while Leeds sit six points clear of the relegation zone as the battle at the bottom intensifies.

With wins for West Ham and Nottingham Forest over the weekend increasing the pressure, Leeds arrived on Merseyside knowing victory would be valuable momentum. In that context, surrendering the lead proved a missed opportunity for Daniel Farke’s side, who have now lost just once in their last 10 league matches.

“We’re disappointed because we weren’t far away from winning,” Farke said.
“We were very dominant in the first half. It was an excellent away performance, but nothing has been achieved yet. We must keep going and stay humble.”

Farke had praised Dominic Calvert-Lewin as “one of the best English strikers around” ahead of the forward’s first return to Everton since joining Leeds in August. The striker has enjoyed a resurgence, scoring eight goals in his last 10 league games after netting just three times during an injury-hit final season at Goodison Park.

However, Calvert-Lewin was unable to make a decisive impact against his former club.

Leeds took the lead in the 28th minute following a well-worked move. Anton Stach delivered a cross towards Calvert-Lewin, James Tarkowski failed to clear, and Justin reacted quickest to fire home from 10 yards.

Calvert-Lewin came agonisingly close to doubling the advantage moments later, turning Jayden Bogle’s cross against the post from close range.

Everton improved after the interval, with Iliman Ndiaye — fresh from Africa Cup of Nations success with Senegal — denied by an outstanding last-ditch block from Sebastiaan Bornauw.

Barry then went close with an inventive flick that forced an excellent save from Leeds goalkeeper Karl Darlow, serving as a warning the visitors failed to heed.

The equaliser arrived in the 76th minute when Barry timed his run perfectly to meet Idrissa Gueye’s low cross, delicately lifting the ball over Darlow from six yards.

Everton pushed for a late winner, and Gueye — another member of Senegal’s AFCON-winning squad — came close when his powerful strike crashed against the crossbar, but the points were ultimately shared.