'I fancied him to put it away': Tarkowski on Dewsbury-Hall's goal

Tarkowski praises his Everton teammates for their spirited campaign.
Centre-back has been an ever-present for the Toffees this season.

Everton snatched a 91st‑minute equaliser at Brentford on Saturday, with Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall’s strike securing a 2‑2 draw. The result kept the Toffees level on points with Brentford and extended their impressive away run.

After the game, James Tarkowski spoke about the squad’s character, the importance of the point, and his faith in the man who delivered it.

The Blues trailed twice at the Gtech Community Stadium. Igor Thiago’s early penalty was cancelled out by a Beto header, before the Brentford striker netted a second of the afternoon. Everton refused to go down easily, and Dewsbury‑Hall fired home in stoppage time to send the travelling fans into celebration.

Tarkowski: ‘We’ve got resilience in this group’

Tarkowski, who spent time at Brentford earlier in his career, said that it was not a perfect performance for Everton but the team refused to accept defeat. Talking to Everton about the season, Tarkowski said,

“I think we’ll take the point. This is a tough place to come. They’re a team level on points with us, so it’s good that we didn’t let them get away from us in that sense. So we’ll take the point, considering we didn’t play great.”

Pointing to previous late goals this season, the defender said, “I feel like we’ve got [resilience] in the group. We’ve done it a few times this season already, scoring some late goals: Brighton away, quite late at Fulham, so we’ve done it a few times.

“And I thought we were going to score, to be honest. The way we were playing last 10 minutes, the game got a bit open, but that was giving us opportunities to score.”

‘He’s been so reliable this year’

Tarkowski was full of praise for substitute Tyrique George, whose cameo was a bright one with flashes of his brilliance. “I thought Tyrique George came on and caused the full‑back a lot of problems, which was good for us,” Tarkowski said

And on the goalscorer, he had no doubt:

“The ball dropped to Kiernan, who is probably the one person we wanted to drop to because he’s been so reliable this year. He’s been brilliant for us this season.

“He’s scored some massive goals for us, but he’s just so reliable, so consistent. I’m glad it fell to him because I fancied him to put it away.”

The defender also acknowledged the travelling support. “The fans have been terrific this season. They travelled down here once again and they always travel really well. So, it was nice to give them that point at the end.”

A rock at the back for Everton

Tarkowski has been a mainstay for David Moyes this season, starting all 31 of his league appearances and playing every minute. He has helped Everton keep 11 clean sheets. Against Bournemouth recently, he produced 14 defensive contributions, including 11 clearances and two blocked shots, in a solid 90‑minute display.

The 33‑year‑old’s experience and leadership have been invaluable in Everton’s push for European football. With six games remaining, Tarkowski believes the club need “two or three special days” to reach their goal. The next of those could come at home to Liverpool this weekend.