Moyes pleased with Everton's comeback despite laboured display

David Moyes did not find Everton's performance against Coventry City wholly convincing, but he was delighted that his side refused to give up and went on to secure a 3-1 victory.

Having fallen behind to a Yann Gboho goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Toffees produced a superb comeback thanks to two goals from Thierno Barry and his assist for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

The result means Everton head into the international break in high spirits, on the back of three wins in a row in all competitions and two in a row in the Premier League. It was also only the third match in Everton's Premier League history in which they have won by more than one goal after falling 1-0 behind in the second half. The Merseyside club had previously done so against West Ham in November 2008 and against Burnley in September 2021.

The win also marked a historic milestone for David Moyes. The Scot took charge of his 592nd match across his two spells at Everton, drawing level with the record of Harry Catterick, the legendary head coach who led the club to two league titles.

Moyes, who acknowledged there were areas to improve given that his side managed only one more shot than their opponents (15-14) and allowed three clear-cut chances at their end, said after the match:

"I'm not entirely sure we put in a very good performance. We got the result, but I have to say Coventry made things extremely difficult for us. You can see on the pitch why they have been getting good results; they won away at Nottingham Forest and beat Sunderland. There may also have been some decisions that could have gone their way tonight. But in the end we found the goals we needed. Winning in the Premier League is very hard, so you have to appreciate every victory."

Moyes also spoke highly of Barry, who has made a blistering start to the season. The French forward's brace took him to 10 goals in 13 matches this season. Having scored 8 goals in 41 matches over the whole of last season, the young striker has already surpassed that tally and sits behind only Manchester City's Erling Haaland (14) in the league.

Speaking about Barry, Moyes said: "We conceded a very simple goal, but the reaction to it was brilliant. Thierno Barry getting two goals was very important for us. We're always happy with him and we want him to keep scoring. Even though he missed a couple of chances, he scored crucial goals for us today. He's becoming an indispensable part of the team, and reaching 10 goals is really excellent."

After the international break, Everton travel to Brentford on 23 November and will host Liverpool in the Merseyside derby six days later.