Everton Triumphs 3–1 Against Newcastle United in Pre-Season

Everton’s pre-season finally crackled into life in Edinburgh, a young front line ripping through a reshaped Newcastle United in a 3–1 win that felt far more convincing than the scoreline.

Ten days out from the Premier League kick-off, David Moyes watched a side that has stuttered through the summer suddenly find rhythm, aggression and, crucially, end product.

Branthwaite sits out as Moyes shuffles his pack

The evening began with a notable absentee. Jarrad Branthwaite, fresh from captaining Everton and playing 80 minutes in Stuttgart, was left out of the squad entirely as part of his planned reintegration after last season’s hamstring injury. The club confirmed he will continue full training at Finch Farm and is being held back for the final warm-up against LOSC Lille.

Nathan Patterson started at right-back on Scottish soil, a neat nod to the surroundings, while new arrivals such as Norgaard and Johnson remained on the sidelines, still to be fully folded into Moyes’s plans. Iroegbunam was again missing after his early withdrawal in Germany.

The rest? Functional, familiar, and – as it turned out – far more fluent than in recent weeks.

Newcastle start fast, Everton grow into it

Newcastle, kitted out in pink and under new head coach Matthias Jaissle, started on the front foot. They monopolised the ball in the opening exchanges, forcing Everton to chase and defend deep.

Travers had to deal with an early lob from Wissa and then a sharp effort from Elanga after Vitalii Mykolenko tied himself in knots on the left. The keeper parried smartly and, for a while, the pattern felt ominous: Newcastle probing, Everton clearing, the Blues barely touching the ball.

Then the game flipped.

Patterson, bright and bold, finally got Everton moving in the 14th minute, whipping a superb cross to the far post that just eluded Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. It was the first sign that Newcastle’s dominance was fragile.

George and Barry began to find pockets. Hackney started snapping into tackles and threading passes. The moves were often over-elaborate, the final ball missing, but the intent was there. Everton were no longer passengers.

Tarkowski’s tackle, Barry’s finish, and a shift in mood

The key moment came on 28 minutes, born from danger at one end and ruthlessness at the other.

Hackney was robbed and Wissa seemed certain to punish him, bursting clear. James Tarkowski read it perfectly, timing a brilliant challenge to snuff out the chance and spark an instant counter.

Michael Keane lofted the ball forward. Barry initially misjudged it, but recovered superbly, wriggling past two defenders before the ball broke loose. Armstrong reacted quickest, slipping in Theirno Barry, who drilled a low finish across the keeper and into the far corner.

One move. One clean strike. Everton 1–0, and suddenly Murrayfield belonged to the Blues.

Barry, now brimming with confidence, kept driving at Newcastle. He was wrestled down by Joelinton, the free-kick wasted, but Everton’s attacks had a new edge. Ndiaye then should have scored from a slick move, only for Newcastle’s new goalkeeper to deny him.

The reprieve didn’t last.

Ndiaye from the spot as Everton seize control

Mykolenko, much more assertive going forward, slipped Dewsbury-Hall into the box. Joelinton lunged in again, overstepping the line this time. Penalty.

Iliman Ndiaye stepped up on 35 minutes and rolled his spot-kick home with calm authority. Everton 2–0, and Newcastle’s frustration began to boil.

Patterson then snapped into a challenge on Joelinton and surged away, only for Dewsbury-Hall to hesitate on the ball and waste a promising break. Wissa flew into a nasty foul, earning only a free-kick and a glare from Tarkowski. The Blaydon Races chorus from the Newcastle end sounded more agitated than buoyant.

By half-time, Everton were firmly in charge. The defence was solid, the midfield sharper, and the front line dangerous every time they broke.

Newcastle ring the changes, Travers stands tall

Jaissle responded at the interval with wholesale changes, and the new faces immediately raised the tempo. Jacob Murphy burst in behind Mykolenko and drove low towards the far corner, but Travers produced an outstanding save down to his right.

Everton wobbled briefly, forced to defend deep as Newcastle’s fresh legs pressed high. Hackney tried to release Barry, only for the forward’s heavy touch to let him down. George whipped a tempting ball towards Ndiaye that bounced awkwardly and skipped out of play.

When Everton did get out, they were wasteful. Mykolenko’s cross from a promising position was poor, and attacks fizzled out as quickly as they started.

Then the football started to flow again.

Dewsbury-Hall combined neatly with Hackney, who teed up George for a trademark curler that drifted just beyond the angle. Newcastle continued to target Mykolenko’s flank but were caught offside, their timing off as Everton’s line held.

Barry drew a foul from Miley, and Dewsbury-Hall bent the resulting free-kick around the wall, forcing another sharp save as it curled towards the post.

George steals the show

Moyes turned to his bench around the hour mark, introducing Dibling, Alcaraz and Beto, and the game opened up. Everton’s passing was adventurous, if not always precise. Hackney linked well with George, Dibling drew contact in the box without reward, and a series of half-chances came and went.

Then came the moment of the night.

Tyrique George, already buzzing on the left, produced a goal that would stand up in any arena, in any month of the season.

He drove at Newcastle again, exchanging crisp passes with Armstrong. The midfielder showed real composure, pausing on the ball, drawing defenders in, then threading a superb reverse pass into George’s path. The weight, the angle, the disguise – all perfect.

George spun like a ballerina, set himself in one fluid movement and smashed a low shot into the net on 73 minutes. A stunning piece of individual and collective quality. Everton’s bench rose as one. So did the noise.

It was 3–0, and fully deserved.

Everton’s confidence surged. George slipped Aznou in down the left, his cross blocked. Dibling tormented his marker and delivered a decent ball with no one alive to it. Ramsey hauled Armstrong down with a rugby tackle and somehow escaped a booking.

The football, though, was flowing. Everton were playing with a swagger that had been missing all summer.

Late sting, but Everton leave with answers

Newcastle finally found a way through late on. Murphy again got joy down the flank and swung in a superb cross, which Harvey Barnes clipped home with quality to make it 3–1. A consolation, but a reminder that this Everton side still has work to do defensively when legs tire and concentration dips.

Moyes used his bench fully: Patterson made way for Röhl, Keane for O’Brien, Mykolenko for Aznou, and Hackney for Foster late on. Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Barry and George all earned warm applause as they departed, their work done.

The numbers on the night were simple. Everton’s scorers: Theirno Barry (28'), Iliman Ndiaye (35' pen), Tyrique George (73'). Newcastle’s reply: Harvey Barnes, from a Jacob Murphy cross.

The context is less simple, but more intriguing. A mixed pre-season now has a statement performance. Young attackers have put down serious markers. Branthwaite is being carefully readied. New signings are waiting in the wings.

With the Premier League curtain about to rise and a new era on Tyneside already under scrutiny, it was Everton – not Newcastle – who looked like a team that knows exactly where it wants to go.