Everton beat Newcastle 1-0 at St James' Park on Monday night, and the scoreline was the kindest thing that could be said about the home side. Thierno Barry scored in the 49th minute. It was Everton's first away league win of the season, and their first away league win since they won at the same ground in February. Newcastle were booed off at half-time and again at the end. A crowd of 52,279 watched a second home defeat in a row.
The night got worse in stoppage time. Jacob Ramsey, on as a substitute, was sent off in the 98th minute after two yellow cards in 86 seconds. Newcastle have now lost four of their last five games in all competitions. Four days earlier Everton had already knocked them out of the Carabao Cup, 3-1 on Merseyside. David Moyes's side have taken four points off them inside a week, and only one of those games was in the league.
Where it leaves the table
Everton move up to seventh on 13 points, with a goal difference of zero after nine games. Newcastle drop to 13th on 11 points, with a goal difference of minus three. The Monday game was the last of matchweek nine. Arsenal lead it on 24 points after Kai Havertz's winner at Anfield. Manchester City are second on 21. Brighton, who won at the Etihad on Saturday, are third on 19. Chelsea are fourth on 16 after beating Manchester United 2-0. Liverpool are fifth on 15.
The round produced 21 goals in ten games, five home wins, three away wins and two draws. Four players were sent off across the weekend and Monday night: Jean-Philippe Mateta of Crystal Palace with a straight red, and Lisandro Martinez, Omar Alderete and Ramsey for second bookings. Barry's strike was enough on its own. Everton did not need a second.
Newcastle 0-1 Everton
- Barry, 49 minutes. Attendance 52,279.
- Ramsey sent off in the 98th minute: two yellow cards in 86 seconds.
- Everton seventh on 13 points. Newcastle 13th on 11.
- Arsenal lead the league on 24 points. City are on 21. Brighton are on 19.
- Next: Everton v Coventry, Friday 6 November, 8pm. Arsenal v Hull is on Saturday at 3pm.
What the boos were about
Newcastle's supporters have watched a side that began the season with European ambitions lose at home in the league and lose a cup tie to the same opponent within four days. The league defeat was the one that changes the table. Sky's report called Everton deserved winners and Newcastle lacklustre. The red card did not change the result. It did describe the evening: a substitute booked twice before he had been on the pitch for two minutes of footballing sense.
For Moyes, an away win in November is the sort of result that makes a mid-table season look like a climb. Seventh is not a European place, and nine games is not a season. It is the first time this year the away column has a league win in it. That matters to a squad that has drawn more often than it has lost, and that has needed a clean sheet on the road more than it has needed a spectacle.
The next kick, on Friday
There is no Premier League football on Tuesday or Wednesday. The next match is Friday at 8pm, Everton at home to Coventry City, who climbed out of the bottom three on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Sunderland. On Saturday Arsenal host Hull City at 3pm, still three points clear, and Nottingham Forest host Manchester City at 5.30pm. Manchester United, 17th on seven points, play Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday at 4.30pm. Saturday had already taken City's lead and United's composure. Monday took Newcastle's.
The international break then arrives, and with it the habit of treating nine games as a verdict. It is not one. It is a photograph. In this photograph Arsenal are clear, Brighton are the surprise, United are in the bottom four, and Everton have finally won away. Newcastle have a fortnight to decide whether the boos were a warning or a habit.