Dwight McNeil scored the winner for Everton in a 1-0 victory over Brentford, pushing the Toffees out of
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1. Everton 1-0 Brentford: Dwight McNeil lifts resurgent Toffees OUT of the relegation zone with a stunner from the edge of the box after just 35 SECONDS Everton were ahead after just 35 seconds thanks to a rocket from Dwight McNeil Brentford were much improved during the second half and laid siege on goal Nerves aplenty at Goodison Park but they have risen out of the relegation zone By Joe Bernstein for The Mail on Sunday Published: 11:58 EST, 11 March 2023 | Updated: 16:06 EST, 11 March 2023 e-mail 1.2k shares 31 View comments Sean Dyche’s loyalty to his former players is paying big dividends at Everton. Dwight McNeil, magnet for the boo-boys when Frank Lampard was in charge earlier in the season, scored the priceless winning goal after 35 seconds and made a goal-line clearance. At the back two more of the manager’s Burnley old boys Michael Keane and James Tarkowski were both brilliant in front of England manager Gareth Southgate. With Bournemouth’s win earlier in the day, Everton were only one-off-the-bottom at kick off, but had climbed to the giddy heights of 15th by the time referee Simon Hooper blew the final whistle. On such thin margins will this season’s relegation battle be decided and in Dyche, Everton – ever-present in the top flight since the 1950s – have an experienced leader. Dwight McNeil scored the only goal of the game as Everton beat Brentford on Saturday The winger rifled in the only goal inside 35 seconds when connecting on the edge of the area Sean Dyche cut an animated figure on the touchline as Everton held on for a massive victory McNeil and Keane weren’t even in the starting XI when he was appointed in late-January but more than have justified their selections yesterday against a Brentford side who lost their 12-game unbeaten league run – Aston Villa the last team to beat them under interim Aaron Danks. MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS Everton (4-3-3): Pickford 6: Coleman 6, Keane 8, Tarkowski 8, Godfrey 6; Onana 5.5 (Davies 80), Gueye 6.5, Doucoure 6.5; Iwobi 6.5 (Mykolenko 90), Gray 7 (Maupay 86), McNeil 8.5 Subs unused: Begovic (Gk), Holgate, Mina, Coady, Garner, Simms Goal: McNeil 1 Booked: Coleman, Doucoure Brentford: Raya 6: Hickey 5.5 (Wissa 74), Pinnock 6, Mee 6, Henry 7; Norgaard 6 (Onyeka 74), Janelt 6, Jensen 6 (Schade 62 6); Mbuemo 7, Toney 6.5, Damsgaard 5.5 (Dasilva 62 6) Subs unused: Cox (Gk), Ajer, Jansson, Ghoddos, Baptiste Booked: Norgaard Referee: Simon Hooper 6 Advertisement ‘I gave Dwight his debut – I am familiar to him,’ said Dyche explaining the match-winning winger’s revival. ‘I’m sure he was trying to work hard for the previous manager but he was learning, probably he didn’t understand some of the stuff they were trying to do. Nothing I’ve done here would have been a surprise to him. ‘Dwight puts pressure on himself but he’s learning as he gets older you need to have a professional enjoyment even in tough times. It was a very fine strike to score and he was running and harrying to the end as well.’ It was the perfect start for Dyche’s unchanged side in the pouring Goodison Park rain. A ball into the channel by Seamus Coleman was turned into decent possession by the harrying of Demarai Gray. When the ball arrived via Alex Iwobi to Abdoulaye Doucoure, he released McNeil who had time to pick his spot despite the attentions of Aaron Hickey, and bent a brilliant left-foot finish beyond goalkeeper David Raya. It was the winger’s third goal of the season and set the tone for a rousing battle more akin to a cup-tie with so much at stake. With Dyche taking a soaking in the technical area, Everton came close to adding a second goal when Keane won a set-piece header only for the ball to float agonisingly wide. Amadou Onana had an even better opportunity when Raya parried Alex Iwobi’s cross into this path but the Belgian somehow shovelled the ball over from six yards. Brentford finally came out of their shell after 25 minutes when Bryan Mbuemo took a pot-shot that saw Pickford fumble the slippery ball. Ivan Toney then got his first sighter from a cross but Keane stuck tight and ensured he couldn’t finish. It was a frustrating afternoon for Brentford as their 12-game unbeaten streak was ended Demarai Gray thought he had made it 2-0 to Everton but soon VAR was called into action The verdict was that there had been a handball in the build-up so Gray's goal was chalked off Idrissa Gueye then lost out to Toney in the middle of the park. The striker didn’t need an invitation to stride forward and pop off a shot that Pickford again dealt with uncomfortably by electing to punch rather than catch. Everton caught their second wind before half-time when Raya blocked Gray’s shot at his near post and then kicked Alex Iwobi’s effort away after another corner had caused alarm. But home celebrations for a second goal were cut short after 43 minutes once Gray had wheeled away in celebration. Ethan Pinnock’s clearance had hit him at close range and rolled in but VAR ruled it had connected with the Everton player’s upper arm rather than his shoulder. ‘I was surprised,’ said Dyche of the decision – but thankfully for him it didn’t alter the final outcome. Brentford were far shaper in the second half with manager Thomas Frank making two double-changes on the hour and with 15 minutes left. They had opportunities with Kevin Schade heading wide from close range and McNeil hooking off the line after Pinnock had tried to bundle in a corner. Right at the end, Raya came up for a corner but showed he’s no Toney by screwing a downward header harmlessly wide. At full-time, Coleman took a celebratory piggy-back ride on McNeil while Frank reflected on the end of his side’s run, damaging their European ambitions. ‘It was a game of two halves. We lost the physical battle in the first half but the unbeaten run was an unbelievable achievement. I don’t know how many teams in the last five years apart from Man City and Liverpool have gone 12 games,’ he said proudly. Brentford are in the middle of a run facing teams fighting for their lives at the bottom but Frank dismissed any idea his team may be less motivated than their opponents. ‘Forgive my language, but the boys are p****d (off) we lost. I understand teams are under different sort of pressure but I don’t have any concerns. We have to make sure we are so determined to bounce back at Southampton on Wednesday. England manager Gareth Southgate was in attendance to cast his eye over proceedings Brentford's players were frustrated with the decision making of referee Simon Hooper Share or comment on this article: Everton 1-0 Brentford: Dwight McNeil lifts resurgent Toffees OUT of the relegation zone e-mail 1.2k shares Add comment Comments 31 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . Submit Comment Clear Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. No Yes Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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