Is Barry emerging as frontman Everton can finally count on?Figure caption, Wasteful Palace are punished by Everton in Sage’s first gameByKeifer MacDonaldFootball reporter at Hill Dickinson StadiumPublished10 minutes agoThere were fewer than 15 minutes remaining in Everton’s Premier League opening-game win over Crystal Palace when supporters had one final reason to rise to their feet.
The stadium announcer at Hill Dickinson Stadium had just revealed that match-winner Thierno Barry would be leaving the field to be replaced by Beto.
As he made his way off the pitch, the 23-year-old Frenchman took a moment to soak up the acclaim from the blue half of Merseyside after delivering a performance of huge significance.
When he connected with Iliman Ndiaye’s cross early in the second half to double Everton’s lead – and all but end any hope of a Palace comeback – Barry was all smiles as he celebrated to cheers from the home support.
It was quite the contrast to the feeling towards him at the end of last year, when he endured a 14-game goal drought after arriving from Villarreal for £27m.
“Look, strikers will probably be judged on their goals, so he can walk away and be really happy with it,” mentioned boss David Moyes in his post-match press conference.
“I thought it would be wrong not to mention the quality of the cross from Ndiaye. Thierno getting in the right spot was huge and scoring with a header was really big for us because it was an important time in the game.”
After a year of adapting to life at Everton, Barry now looks ready to establish himself as the team’s main talisman up front.
