Thierno Barry's Hat-Trick Powers Everton Past Preston in Carabao Cup
Thierno Barry walked off with the match ball and a statement performance as Everton tore into Preston North End, booking a home Carabao Cup third-round tie against Wolves with a commanding win.
On a night that belonged to the summer signing, Barry scored his first Everton hat-trick, while fellow new arrival Brennan Johnson finally snapped his own barren run with a first goal for the club. David Moyes, back up against his old side, watched his team control almost every minute.
Moyes goes strong, Everton go straight for the throat
Moyes, who managed Preston for four years earlier in his career, did not treat this like a gentle cup rotation exercise. He made only three changes from the opening-weekend Premier League victory over Crystal Palace, and the intent showed from the first whistle.
Everton pinned Preston back early, moving the ball quickly through midfield and wide areas. The breakthrough felt inevitable. It arrived on 25 minutes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall split the Preston back line with a superb pass out to the left, Vitalii Mykolenko drove onto it and whipped a low ball across the six-yard box. Barry, alive to the moment, arrived in the right place to tap in his first of the night.
Preston, winless in their first two Championship games, had been heavily reshuffled by Paul Heckingbottom, who made seven changes from the weekend defeat by Wolves. For a brief spell, though, they threatened to drag themselves back into the contest.
Leo Leroy found space inside the area and had a clear sight of goal, but dragged his effort off target. It was a let-off for Everton and a turning point for Preston, who never came that close again.
Barry takes over
The warning seemed to stir Everton. Tyler Dibling rattled the post as the pressure built again, while Iliman Ndiaye began to find pockets of space and started to dictate. The Senegal international curled in a teasing cross that begged to be finished, only for Barry to glance his header just wide.
The miss did not linger in his mind for long.
Just before the hour, Dewsbury-Hall unleashed a fierce drive from the edge of the box. Preston goalkeeper Lee Nicholls could only parry the shot straight back into danger. Barry reacted first, darting onto the loose ball and steering it into the net for his second.
Preston tried to respond with moments of individual improvisation. Callum Lang forced Jordan Pickford into action with an ambitious overhead kick, the Everton keeper springing to his right to claim. It was eye-catching, but isolated. The tie was already slipping away.
Hat-trick sealed, Johnson joins the party
The pressure finally told again on 70 minutes. Everton sliced through Preston with a flowing move, substitute Johnson bursting into space on the right. His low cross fizzed into the box and Barry, timing his run perfectly, turned it home to complete his hat-trick.
By then, Goodison’s newest forward looked unstoppable.
Johnson was not content with just the assist. Having joined from Crystal Palace in the summer and without a goal since November, he needed this. With 18 minutes left, Barry turned provider, sliding a through ball into Johnson’s path. The forward drove a low shot into the corner, ending his drought and adding another layer of gloss to the scoreline.
Barry now sits on four goals for the season, adding this treble to his strike in the 2-0 win over Palace. The only concern for Everton came late on, when he appeared to pick up a knock before being withdrawn.
On this evidence, Moyes will be desperate that it is nothing serious. With Wolves coming to Goodison in the next round and momentum building, Everton may just have found a cutting edge they have lacked for far too long.
