David Moyes defended Idrissa Gueye after the midfielder was sent off for punching Everton teammate Michael Keane in the face during their 1-0 win over Manchester United.
Gueye was sent off after 13 minutes at Old Trafford but Kieran Dewsbury-Hall struck a brilliant winner on half-time to seal the Toffees’ first win at the stadium since 2013.
And Moyes’ side dug deep after the goal; after Dewsbury-Hall scored after 28 minutes and 38 seconds, the Toffees failed to score a single shot, while United scored 23, with six on target.
Due to Gueye’s dismissal, Everton received their 110th red card in the Premier League, together with Arsenal the most of any club.
But Moyes was not annoyed by the emotion shown by his players, instead believing referee Tony Harrington could have prevented him from waving the red card.
“We don’t see it often. If nothing had happened afterwards, I don’t think anyone in the stadium would have been surprised,” Moyes told Sky Sports.
“I thought maybe the referee could have thought about it a little longer. I was told that if you punch your own player or if you leave an arm you can get into some kind of trouble, but there is another side to it.”
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“I like my players to fight and get annoyed with each other.
“If you want a winning team, with the resilience and strength that got us the result, then I think you have to have players who will respond in that way.
“I’m disappointed we were sent off, but any player will tell you how angry he gets with his teammates.
“He apologized in the dressing room for being sent off, praised the players endlessly for their performance tonight and thanked them for it.”
This was the first time Everton had won a Premier League match, having sent off a player in the first half since August 2006 against Tottenham.
Dewsbury-Hall’s goal for Everton was his fifth in the Premier League, but the first with his right foot, while his previous four came via his left foot.
The former Chelsea player praised his teammates’ reaction after they brought down a player, insisting they would put the altercation behind them.
“It was just a moment of madness. It was clearly avoidable,” Dewsbury-Hall told Sky Sports.
“All I can say is that Idrissa apologized to all of us at half-time and said his word. That’s all he can do and we’ll move on from that.”
“The reaction from the boys afterwards was incredible, of the highest level. We could have easily crumbled, gotten in on ourselves and lost the game comfortably, but it probably made us grow even more as a team.”
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