Barry double and Dewsbury-Hall strike sink 10-man VAR frustration for Coventry
Thierno Barry scored twice and set up a third as Everton came from behind to beat Coventry 3-1, with three VAR calls going against Frank Lampard's side.
Everton came from behind to beat Coventry City 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Thierno Barry scoring twice and setting up a third as David Moyes's side moved up to fifth in the Premier League.
Coventry had taken the lead through Yann Gboho, who struck his first league goal for the club in only his second appearance for Frank Lampard's side, according to Yahoo Sports.
Barry levelled with a header before the break, then forced in a second from close range after the restart, taking his tally for the season to 10 goals in all competitions.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who had already contributed to the move for the equaliser, put the result beyond doubt with a goal nine minutes from time to complete what the Guardian's Andy Hunter described as Everton's third consecutive win.
Coventry's night was soured by three significant VAR interventions. Hunter reported that two strong penalty appeals were waved away, while Yahoo Sports detailed one of them specifically: James Tarkowski appeared to pull the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi with the score still goalless in the first half.
Hunter also noted that the second of Barry's two goals appeared to come off the striker's arm, adding to Lampard's frustration on his return to the club he once managed.
Barry's double leaves him just behind Manchester City's Erling Haaland in the Premier League's scoring charts this season, with Haaland on nine league goals compared to the Everton forward's overall total of 10 across all competitions, per Yahoo Sports.
The France international has now scored in three successive league matches for the first time at Everton, and only the second time in his career, having netted six times in his last seven outings in all competitions. His 10 goals this season already exceed the total he managed in his debut campaign at the club.
Moyes, who equalled Harry Catterick's record of 592 matches in charge of Everton with the victory, had told his pre-match press conference that "Erling Haaland should be worried," according to Yahoo Sports.
Hunter framed the result as further evidence of a season that has defied expectations following what the Guardian called Everton's calamitous summer transfer window, with Moyes's squad now sitting fifth in the table despite that upheaval.
Barry's growing influence as Everton's only recognised senior striker, allied to Dewsbury-Hall's contributions from midfield, has become central to Moyes extracting results from a squad he has repeatedly had to manage creatively this season.