Everton vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
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An early goal from Dwight McNeil earned Everton a precious 1-0 win over Brentford at Goodison Park that dragged Sean Dyche’s struggling side out of the Premier League relegation zone on Saturday.
McNeil put Everton in front with a superb left-footed finish in the opening minute after an assist by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
The home side spurned several chances to extend their lead in the first half, with Michael Keane, Amadou Onana and Demarai Gray all guilty of poor finishing, while Brentford keeper David Raya saved well from Alex Iwobi following a corner.
Gray, who shot straight at Raya when put clean through by Idrissa Gueye just after the half-hour mark, bundled home minutes before halftime but the video assistant referee ruled the goal out for handball.
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford denied Rico Henry with an excellent save minutes into the second half in a match in which Everton’s back line did brilliantly to deny Brentford’s prolific target man Ivan Toney the time and space to operate.
Brentford pushed hard for an equaliser and dominated possession after the break, coming agonisingly close in injury time when Raya went up for a corner in the dying minutes but headed narrowly wide.
Victory moved Everton up four places to 15th in the table on 25 points, while Brentford stayed ninth.
Everton vs Brentford
BRENTFORD SUBS: Frank Onyeka, Shandon Baptiste, Kristoffer Ajer, Kevin Schade, Saman Ghoddos, Josh Dasilva, Pontus Jansson, Yoane Wissa, Matthew Cox.
Everton vs Brentford
BRENTFORD STARTING XI (4-3-3): David Raya; Aaron Hickey, Ethan Pinnock, Ben Mee, Rico Henry; Martin Damsgaard, Christian Norgaard, Mathias Jensen; Bryan Mbeumo, Ivan Toney, Vitaly Janelt.
Everton vs Brentford
EVERTON SUBS: Neal Mauay, Yerry Mina, Tom Davies, Mason Holgate, Ellis Simms, Vitalii Mykolenko, James Garner, Asmir Begovic, Conor Coady.
Everton vs Brentford
EVERTON STARTING XI (4-5-1): Jordan Pickford; Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, Ben Godfrey; Alex Iwobi, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana, Dwight McNeil; Demarai Gray.
Everton vs Brentford
Everton start the day in the drop zone, only behind Leeds United on goal difference, but a win today could change that depending on results around them. Since Sean Dyche took over at the end of January, Everton have two of their six matches (D1 L3), but both of those matches did come at home, beating both Arsenal and Leeds 1-0. Last time out, they twice took the lead against Nottingham Forest, but only came away with a point in a 2-2 draw. They face a Brentford side who are closing in on the European places. They're on the longest current unbeaten run in the league, going 12 without defeat (W6 D6), though they have drawn their last two on the road.
Everton vs Brentford
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