Thierno Barry dedicates his first Everton goal to the supporters | OneFootball

Thierno Barry thanked the Everton supporters after scoring his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.

The French striker, signed from Villarreal this summer, had a complicated start to life in a royal blue shirt. He had failed to score in 16 previous appearances but was getting increasingly closer after having a couple of attempts disallowed in recent matches.

On Saturday, however, he provided the finishing touch to Iliman Ndiaye’s lightning-quick counter-attack just before half-time and helped the Blues pick up their fourth win in five games.

“The two last games I scored, but [they were disallowed],” said Barry.

“So, when I came today, I knew I could score. And when I scored, I was very happy. This is for the supporters. I'm very happy because I worked for this. I don't know for how many games I didn’t score, so I'm very happy. The team helped me a lot and the coach also.

“Every time I receive a message on Instagram, for example. [The fans] say, ‘I feel today you will score.’ Every game they say this, but this game I received zero messages and I scored!  So, I think, please, don't send me a message!”

Barry also revealed that Ndiaye had made him a promise prior to the game, which he ended up keeping. “Before the game, Ili said, ‘Yes, today I'll try to help you score.'”

Having scored his first goal for the club, Barry will undoubtedly feel relieved. However, other aspects of his game like hold-up play, associating with teammates, and winning duels are also getting better as the 23-year-old continues to adapt to the Premier League.

“I think the striker is not just for scoring," he remarked. "You need to help the team with other things, like pressing, for example, like a link [player]. So, yes, I think you can do more than scoring.

“I think if you watch my first game and today, it’s different. I try work with my body to feel stronger. So, yeah, I think I need to keep going like this.”