Brentford led twice against Everton through Igor Thiago, but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s stoppage-time equaliser earned the visitors a 2-2 draw at the Gtech.
Brentford were denied a win in stoppage time as Everton came from behind twice to claim a 2-2 draw at the Gtech Community Stadium, leaving the race around the European places as tight as ever. Igor Thiago scored both Brentford goals, but Beto’s first-half equaliser and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s late strike rescued a point for David Moyes’ side.
The home side made the ideal start. Just three minutes had gone when Kevin Schade was fouled in the area by Jordan Pickford, and Thiago stepped up to convert the penalty for his 20th Premier League goal of the season. It was a nerveless finish, even if the run-up briefly threatened to overcomplicate things, and it gave Brentford early control of a match that already carried obvious significance in the table.
Everton settled after that setback and gradually found their way back into the contest. Their equaliser arrived in the 26th minute when Idrissa Gueye delivered from the right and Beto got up well to head past Caoimhin Kelleher. It was a direct goal, but it suited the pattern of Everton’s best spell in the first half, when they looked more threatening in transition and more composed in possession than they had in the opening exchanges.
Brentford had chances of their own as the game opened up. Nathan Collins went close with a header that struck the bar, and Keith Andrews’ side looked the more aggressive team for much of the second half. Everton, though, stayed in the match and remained dangerous enough to keep the afternoon uneasy for the home side.
The breakthrough Brentford wanted finally came in the 77th minute. Thiago was involved again, his shot taking a deflection and wrong-footing Pickford on its way in. It was not as clean as his early penalty, but it looked like it might be decisive. With the Gtech lifting and Everton pushed into chasing the game, Brentford seemed to have done enough.
But they could not quite see it through. In stoppage time, Everton forced one final opening and Dewsbury-Hall found space at the back post to guide a left-footed finish through bodies and beyond Kelleher. It was a damaging moment for Brentford, who had been within touching distance of a result that would have created real breathing room over one of the teams closest to them.
The result carries obvious significance in the race for Europe. Brentford and Everton came into the afternoon level on points, and that remains the case after a draw that does little to separate them. Brentford stay ahead on goal difference, but this was a chance to open a gap over one of the teams closest to them in the table and they were unable to take it.