Barry's chest-in winner lifts Everton fifth as Moyes outsmarts Ipswich on a shoestring

Thierno Barry scored one of the more unlikely goals of the Premier League season as Everton beat Ipswich Town 1-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, moving David Moyes’ side to fifth in the table and within three points of the summit after an unbeaten start.

The winner arrived when a James Tarkowski volley from 25 yards struck Barry on the chest, wrong-footed goalkeeper Christian Walton, and rolled into the net. Whether Barry was attempting to get out of the way or reacting to turn it in remained unclear even after the final whistle. “The goal is fairly unfortunate to go in off the guy’s midriff,” said Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil. It was Barry’s fifth goal of the season, ending a four-game drought in the most unorthodox fashion.

A second appeared to follow when Barry glanced a header in from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner, only for VAR to rule it out because the offside Brennan Johnson was standing in front of Walton. O’Neil accepted the decision; Moyes noted pointedly that “the goalkeeper would not have saved the header.” Barry also headed wide from an Ainsley Maitland-Niles cross, drawing a mild rebuke from his manager. “He should have scored his header,” Moyes said.

The broader picture at Goodison’s successor ground is one of a club doing more with less. Everton finished low in the Premier League’s summer spending charts after a transfer window complicated by deadline-day mishaps, leaving them with just one senior striker. Yet Moyes has turned that constraint into a talking point. “We have tried to turn it into a positive,” he said, adding that the start to the season had been better than expected. “I would have to say yes in a lot of cases. We have done pretty well.”

The statistics offered a mixed verdict. Everton registered 21 shots but only two on target — a combination Moyes described with characteristic pragmatism. “Today we had 21 shots and only two on target so that is not any good. But the 21 shots is good.” He also pointed to the fact that Everton are still creating chances despite selling Iliman Ndiaye. “Statistically we have been making much more chances,” he said.

For Ipswich, who spent close to £200m in the summer, the defeat underlined how investment alone does not guarantee results. O’Neil’s side were largely contained and rarely threatened Everton’s goal with any conviction. The contrast in resources between the two clubs made Moyes’ fifth-place standing all the more striking — a reminder that his ability to outperform modest budgets and galvanise compact squads remains as relevant as ever.