For a while Everton struggled to prise apart a Burnley side who have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this term but they got there in the end, thanks to Iliman Ndiaye’s persistence, James Garner’s excellence at set pieces and goals from James Tarkowski and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.
But even though their manager, David Moyes, knows that results are all important, he will have been concerned by the effort Everton had to expend to squeeze the resistance out of opponents who already have one foot dangling through the relegation trapdoor.
The problems compared with his counterpart, Scott Parker, though, were small beer. The Burnley head coach was jeered by the travelling supporters after withdrawing Hannibal Mejbri, and had Idrissa Gueye scored with a long-range strike after that tactical switch, their mood would have turned from sceptical to sour.
As uninspiring as the hosts were during the opening exchanges, Burnley’s offering was so meagre they never threatened to take advantage, ensuring a profitable night for Everton, who remain firmly in the conversation for European qualification having claimed their first win at Hill Dickinson Stadium in nearly three months. The squad will now relocate to Portugal for warm-weather training after cancelling their visit to Abu Dhabi.
Tarkowski’s thumping header put Everton ahead in the 32nd minute
PHIL NOBLE/REUTERS
“I would have liked to have created more but we had control for long periods,” Moyes said. “We have started to get a bit more rhythm and that’s back-to-back wins. I’ve still got the feeling we can get a little more in the final third. But that takes us past 40 points and now we will look to get to the next mark, which is 50.”
Everton boast the stadium and the stature to become one of the country’s most successful clubs. What they lack, even with the mercurial Ndiaye in their line-up, is the depth of quality required to consistently challenge the existing status quo. As they laboured through the start of this contest, dominating possession but failing to apply serious pressure on a defence that has now been breached 18 times in eight outings, it became evident that Jack Grealish’s injury has not simply robbed them of a player with genuine star quality but also the ego and nous to seize control of games.
Dewsbury-Hall’s strike made sure of a victory that left Burnley with only one league win in their past 20 games
RICHARD MARTIN-ROBERTS/CAMERASPORT VIA GETTY IMAGES
Still, although they lack finesse in open play, Everton’s proficiency at dead-ball situations has been fuelling their pursuit of a top-seven finish. It was no surprise when Tarkowski headed them in front against his former side from a Garner free kick.
The delivery, curling away from Martin Dubravka and leaving him stranded in no man’s land, was perfect. The centre half’s conversion was textbook as he guided home past the Slovakia goalkeeper for his first goal of the season — much to the delight of his manager.
“James is always getting stick from me because I don’t think he scores enough,” Moyes said. “In order to be a really good centre half these days, you need to score goals from free kicks and corners especially.”
Everton’s home record in 2026 …January 4 Lost 4-2 v Brentford (Premier League)January 7 Drew 1-1 v Wolves (Premier League)January 10 Lost 3-0 on pens (1-1 full time) v Sunderland (FA Cup)January 26 Drew 1-1 v Leeds United (Premier League)February 10 Lost 2-1 v Bournemouth (Premier League)February 23 Lost 1-0 v Manchester United (Premier League)March 3 Won 2-0 v Burnley (Premier League)
Garner nearly created another goal, this time for Jarrad Branthwaite, moments before the interval only for Dubravka to rescue Burnley with a fine reaction save.
Ndiaye thought he had doubled Everton’s lead soon after the break, only to mistime his run before being released by Gueye. That task fell instead to Dewsbury-Hall who, having earlier threatened to present Burnley’s Lesley Ugochukwu with a clear run into the area after mistiming a pass, swept the ball beyond Dubravka on the hour mark after some excellent approach play.
Parker admitted to feeling “anger and confusion” at his side’s performance. “In every aspect — balls and duels — we were way short,” he said. “The game plan was similar to when we went to Chelsea and Crystal Palace and got results. But it just didn’t happen. To concede a set-play goal was hugely disappointing.
“I understand their frustration, the fans, for sure. I’ve not always understood it. But tonight I did. We’ve come here and not brought anything to the game.”
Everton (4-2-3-1): J Pickford — J O’Brien, J Tarkowski, J Branthwaite (M Keane 83), V Mykolenko — I Gueye (T Iroegbunam 87), J Garner — D McNeil (T George 87), K Dewsbury-Hall, I Ndiaye (T Dibling 90) — Beto (T Barry 83).
Burnley (3-4-2-1): M Dubravka — B Humphreys, J Worrall (L Tchaouna 57), M Estève — K Walker, Florentino (J Ward-Prowse 57), L Ugochukwu (A Barnes 83), L Pires — H Mejbri (J Laurent 72), J Anthony — L Foster. Booked Humphreys.
Referee T Robinson.
Tunnel argument the highlight of south-coast stalemateThe two teams either side of Everton in the table — Brentford and Bournemouth — played out a 0-0 draw at the Vitality Stadium. The flashpoint of the match came in the tunnel at full-time when Shaun Cooper, the Bournemouth assistant manager, had a heated argument with Brentford’s veteran midfielder Jordan Henderson. “It was a strong argument but nothing much really happened,” Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth manager, said afterwards. “Everyone was defending their interest. There were no consequences.”