Everton sent Jarrad Branthwaite reminder after nightmare display as much more needed from pair

David Moyes Pinpoints Defensive Errors After Everton’s 4-2 Loss to Brentford

David Moyes refused to use Everton’s ongoing selection problems as an excuse following their 4-2 home defeat to Brentford, instead laying the blame firmly on what he described as “shabby” defending.

The Everton manager felt his side began the match brightly, forcing Brentford goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher into an early save from Dwight McNeil, while Igor Thiago was needed to clear James Tarkowski’s header off the line inside the opening five minutes.

However, momentum swung in the 11th minute when Thiago converted Vitaliy Janelt’s cross, and Everton struggled to recover thereafter. Despite Moyes demanding a more positive approach at half-time, Brentford continued to expose the hosts after the break.

The opening goal stemmed from a loose pass by Tarkowski, and defensive lapses followed. Nathan Collins was left unmarked to head home from a corner, while Tim Iroegbunam, Vitalii Mykolenko and Michael Keane all failed to deal with a swift Brentford counter-attack that allowed Thiago to make it 3-0 just six minutes into the second half.

Beto briefly reignited hopes of a comeback with a headed goal, but Thiago completed his hat-trick soon after, with Thierno Barry grabbing a late consolation for Everton.

Despite being without several key players due to injury and the Africa Cup of Nations, Moyes focused squarely on his side’s mistakes when assessing the defeat.

“I thought we started well,” Moyes said. “For the first 10 minutes we were good. The goalkeeper made a couple of saves, but we gave away a terrible goal and then spent the rest of the half chasing the game.

“We never really got control after that. We had a chance just before half-time which maybe could have got us back in it. At 1-0 we still had an opportunity in the second half, but the goals we conceded were unlike us completely.”

Moyes added: “We don’t often concede four goals, and the way we did it today was really, really poor. If you compare it to how we defended in midweek at Nottingham Forest, it just didn’t add up.

“We were trying to win the game at home and were a bit more open, but Brentford punished us.”

Everton return to action on Wednesday with another Goodison Park fixture, hosting bottom-of-the-table Wolves, who claimed their first Premier League win of the season on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over West Ham United.