POINT Dwight shows he
NO appeal to a higher authority was needed for Everton, who moved off the bottom of the table thanks to a rare moment of quality from Dwight Mcneil.
The Merseysiders may be lawyered-up for the fight against their 10-point deduction but they clawed back three of those against Forest.
In a game no one will remember for long, Mcneil rose above the mediocrity to score in the 67th minute to lift Everton to 18th, while Forest are sliding with just one win in 10.
There was so much anxiety for both clubs in the build-up, this game could have come with a health warning, or at least have been sponsored by beta blockers.
Forest boss Steve Cooper knows owner Evangelos Marinakis is bigger on ambition than he is on gratitude, while Everton had a more pressing sense of injustice.
Their points deduction for breaking profit and sustainability rules, coupled with Burnley’s thumping win over Sheffield United, meant the Toffees began firmly stuck to the bottom of the table.
A lowquality, shapeless first-half brought little to stir the blood on a bitterly cold night.
Neither side looked capable of much fluency or even adept at making the most of set-piece opportunities.
When Forest’s Orel Mangala was pulled down by Ashley Young, the freekick carried no threat, while Everton’s Jack Harrison was also wayward after his initial ball had probed the centre of Forest’s defence.
Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski then both hit air shots aimed at a bouncing ball in the Forest box.
And Forest star Anthony Elanga volleyed wide of the far post after a cross bobbled past two team-mates.
It was that kind of half, until Everton should have gone ahead through Mcneil in the 41st minute.
Released into space by Abdoulaye Doucoure, Mcneil delayed his finish for a fraction of a second, which allowed a determined Murillo to race back and make a superb goal-line
By Graham Thomas
clearance. Forest’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time when Morgan Gibbs-white, fed by Ibrahim Sangare, drilled a low shot just wide of the target.
The second-half mostly meandered along in the same drab manner of misplaced passes, wayward crosses and scuffed shots.
When Elanga’s effort was blocked, Felipe screwed his rebound wide, but at least we were getting nearer the
goal and an actual moment of magic finally arrived in the 67th minute.
Everton showed some patience on the right and although Harrison’s cross was missed by two teammates, Mcneil brought the ball under control instantly and lashed it past keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos in one fluid movement.
Elanga (right), Forest’s only threat, twice went close to an equaliser, but his angle was too narrow the first time he got a sight of goal and the second effort fizzed wide.