Diving red card deepens Ipswich frustration in defeat at Everton

Everton's Thierno Barry (left) celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game during the Premier League match at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool. Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire. 

Premier League: Everton 1 Ipswich 0

Abdul Fatawu’s dismissal after being shown a second yellow card for diving capped a frustrating afternoon for Ipswich in their defeat at Everton.

Having gone behind to Thierno Barry’s deflected first-half goal, the visitors then had to chase the game with 10 men for nearly half an hour after the winger’s ill-judged choice to throw himself to the ground as he went past James Garner.

Referee Stuart Attwell ruled that was simulation and, having been booked in the first half for a foul on Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, dismissed the Ghanaian – although, surprisingly, that was not the most controversial decision by the official.

Having been alerted by VAR, he ruled out Barry’s brilliantly-executed second-half header as Brennan Johnson was offside in front of Christian Walton, despite the goalkeeper being in the opposite half of the goal to where the ball entered the net.

That may have curtailed Barry’s celebrations but he still proved to be the match-winner, although whether his diversion of the ball with his chest was a clever piece of quick thinking or just fortunate as he tried to get out of the way of James Tarkowski’s speculative 30-yard volley very much depends on which camp you are in regarding the 23-year-old.

EVERTON: Pickford, Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski (c), Maitland-Niles (O'Brien 91), Garner, Armstrong, Grealish (George 79), Dewsbury-Hall (Hackney 91), Johnson (Dibling 66), Barry.

IPSWICH TOWN: Walton, Davis, O'Shea (c), Diop, Ouattara, Palacios (Akpom 81), Lukić (Florentino 73), Clarke (Philogene 66), Enciso (Maeda 74), Fatawu, Emersonn (Flemming 81).

Referee: Stuart Attwell.