Carabao Cup news: Everton to face Wolves in third round after Thierno Barry hat-trick buries Preston
Everton cruised into the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday after battering EFL Championship side Preston North End 4-0 at Deepdale.
Frenchman Thierno Barry proved decisive for the Toffees as he scored a sublime hat-trick before assisting summer signing Brennan Johnson for the fourth.
The Merseyside club, who have not reached the fourth round of the League Cup since the 2023/24 season, will next take on Wolves at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Moyes pleased with attacking display
After the match, Everton manager David Moyes told Sky Sports: “It ended up being a little bit more comfortable than I thought it might have been before the game, but it’s a really good result for us.
“I thought we played well at times and our football was quite good, but we need to finish things off a bit better in the first half than we did.
“But I’m really pleased we scored four goals.”
On Barry’s performance, Moyes added: “I told him [at the end of last season] he has to do a lot better than he did before. That’s it.
“We want centre-forwards to score goals. I don’t think it’s easy for anybody coming to the Premier League in their first season, especially centre-forwards.
“He’ll learn a lot more, he’ll see a lot more, and he’s come in with a much better attitude generally, so whoever’s working with him is doing a good job.”
Heckingbottom frustrated by defensive struggles
Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom, meanwhile, admitted: “It’s just frustrating.
“We were going to make the subs and they scored the [second] goal as we had them all lined up. It just changed the game.
“The goals after that were disappointing.
“We were playing against top opposition, we know that, but one or two things, fundamentally, don’t help you keep clean sheets anyway. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against.
“Because of where we are at the minute, it’s hard to take the pressure off the defenders as we’ve not got attacking changes.
“We’ve got defenders on the bench, a couple more midfielders, wing-backs, and some young boys. That’s where we’re at.
“We need attacking changes so we can keep the pressure on, and that’s a problem for us at the minute.”
