Premier League: Everton move out of bottom three
Everton 1 - 0 Brentford
Everton boosted their survival chances with a win in front of a vocal Goodison Park.
The Blues started the day 18th but capitalised on teams around them failing to win by moving out of the Premier League relegation zone, leaping two points and three places above trouble.
McNeil's delightful strike after just 35 seconds gave the hosts the perfect start, rasping a finish across the goal which nestled into the far corner.
Buoyed by their fans, the home side were swarming all over the Bees and created much better chances with Demarai Gray seeing a second goal ruled out for handball by VAR.
As the game moved to a conclusion, Brentford looked to salvage something but they were not at their best, Ethan Pinnock having a header cleared off the line by McNeil and Kevin Schade heading wide at the far post as their 12-match unbeaten run ended.
Despite the result, they will be still hoping to qualify for Europe. Everton will just be concentrating on building on this result and staying in the Premier League.
Reaction
"The first half was a very good performance. We should have been more in front. We're constantly working to progress."
— Everton (@Everton) March 11, 2023
Sean Dyche reflects on today's victory. 🗣 #EVEBRE pic.twitter.com/8XsvfMhQiU
Sean Dyche reflected on the victory with Everton's social media team: "The first half was a very good performance. We should have been more in front. We're constantly working to progress."
Dwight McNeil gave his thoughts on the new Everton manager: “When Dyche came in, we had a conversation about how I was playing. He knew what type of player I am and the person I am off the pitch. We had a conversation about how to get me playing back to how I used to be."
Sarah, an Everton fan, told us: "That could prove to be a very important win for us. The atmosphere was amazing, and the players really seemed to respond to that."
Brentford boss Thomas Frank gave his thoughts to the club's website after the match. He claimed he was pleased with his side's second-half display, and stated that they were unlucky to lose at Goodison Park.
💬 “Everton were better than us in the first half, but the second half was much better, I was very pleased with that. We completely controlled them and created some massive chances"
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC) March 11, 2023
Thomas Frank's post match with @pensionbee #BrentfordFC | #EVEBRE pic.twitter.com/JsG6Pinqtp
