- Dewsbury-Hall scored the leveller in the 2-1 loss to West Ham.
- The English midfielder believes the race for Europe is tight.
- Also bemoans the goals conceded and says they must stop.
Everton’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday was their second consecutive loss, conceding a stoppage‑time winner. After the Merseyside derby heartbreak, the Toffees fell again at the London Stadium.
This time, despite Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall’s stunning volley that briefly levelled the scores, Everton conceded a late Callum Wilson winner. The midfielder later delivered a brutally honest assessment of his team’s performance, calling for a change in mentality and accountability.
Dewsbury‑Hall did not hide his frustration. He pointed to two ‘awful’ goals conceded and a lack of defensive sharpness that has crept into Everton’s game at the worst possible time.
Dewsbury-Hall: ‘We need to improve the mentality’
The 27‑year‑old was clear that the standards have slipped. “It’s very tough, it’s very frustrating. I didn’t think we were probably good enough anyway on the day, but it was a nervy atmosphere from the start, and we didn’t capitalise on that.”
He criticised the goals Everton conceded. “The two goals are awful to concede, so there’s no excuse and accountability needs to be taken. We’re men, we need to do that.”
Dewsbury‑Hall reflected on the moment after his equaliser. “We grew into the game and we got a really important goal. We should be the team then to go into the ascendency and put them on the back foot because they’re the ones who are nervous and need to win. It’s a poor goal to concede and we’ve let them off the hook.”
Set‑pieces have become a particular concern. “The set‑piece ones especially, they’re so big in the game these days, it’s giving teams an edge on us. We’ve worked on it, but we’ve obviously not worked on it enough because teams are looking at us like we’ve got a weak link on set‑pieces at the moment.”
‘I don’t get what the difference is’
Dewsbury‑Hall also addressed the controversial handball incident when the ball struck Mateus Fernandes in the box. No penalty was given, and VAR did not intervene.
“I haven’t seen it back, but in the moment, it looks like he’s handled the ball. I don’t understand why that’s not been given. It’s been said that it was an accidental handball, but we’ve had penalties given against us from blocks this season, where it’s hit arms. I don’t get what the difference is.
“He’s in the box, he’s hit it with his hand and whether it’s accidental or not, it’s handball. It’s a big moment in the game because if we get a penalty, it changes the game, but I just feel we’re not getting any of those decisions at the moment.”
Despite back‑to‑back defeats, the midfielder believes European qualification is tight. “It’s so tight, but it’s just frustrating because we’ve had opportunities in the last couple of weeks to put ourselves in a fantastic position, yet now we’re probably the ones who are chasing. It doesn’t mean it’s done and we’ll never ever think that, and we’ve got four massive games to go.
“But, if we want to really achieve something, we need to improve the mentality and go into games and win games by making it tough for teams to score goals because that’s what we’ve been for the majority of the season. At the business end, it needs to be even more important.”
Everton have four matches left. If they are to salvage their European dream, Dewsbury‑Hall’s call for accountability must be heeded fast.
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