NcNeil's precison strike secures excellent win for the Blues

Nottingham Forest 0 - 1 Everton

Everton travel to the City Ground this weekend in desperate need of a positive result after they were pushed to bottom place in the Premier League after Burnley thumped Sheffield Utd 5-0.

But Amadou Onana misses out with a troublesome calf issue and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is also absent after he experienced tightness in the same muscle during the defeat to Man Utd.

Beto resumed full training after missing out last Sunday with a knock picked up at Finch Farm and he starts in place of Calvert-Lewin. 

Captain Seamus Coleman could make an appearance off the bench after being an unused sub last week. But Sean Dyche sticks with the old guard: Young and Gana.

The home side got the match underway. It was a bit of frenetic pinball in the early stages although Doucoure did get behind the Forest line but was flagged offside.

Forest built an attack in the 5th minute, the ball headed wide by Yates at the far post. Harrison tried to release Beto but Murillo was better positioned. McNeil tried to release Mykolenko on the other side but he was way behind the play. 

McNeil tried to drive forward but Elanga tipped the ball behind and Forest messily defended Everton's first corner. Elanga tried to beat Young who of course fouled him clumsily. The free-kick was cleared.

Everton got aonther free-kick but Branthwaite could only stretch with difficulty and the ball was soon lost.  But Everton kept some forward momentum with Forest defending stoutly. A ball in bouced down to Beto off the keeper but his shot was poor, flying over from 10 yards with the goal at his mercy. A good spell of Everton pressure had yeilded nothing. 

Forest did better to build an attack on the half-hour, Elanga with a big chance but he fired inches wide. Forest coach Alan Tate was shown a yellow card for something. 

A good cross from Gibbs-White needed heading behind by Gana with the corner yielding a shot into a crowd of bodies on the penalty spot. There was little respite for the Blues as Forest kept pushing forward. 

Everton finally reversed the trend but McNeil's cross was headed clear by Murillo and Everton had to defend again. But Doucoure was played in and should have picked out Beto but his cross wasn't clever enough. Another Doucoure ball in forced the defender to stretch. 

Finally a great pass from Docucoure set up McNeil who's shot beat the keeper but Murillo had got back onto the line to clear, somewhat incredibly, and at some coste to Murillo who was already struggling, but still Everton could not score. 

Next was another poor cross in from Young, cleared back to Tarkowski whose dreadful half-volley almost hit the corner flag. Doucoure again got the ball in space down the right but this time Beto was poorly positioned, and not in the space where the ball was played in. 

Everton got very sloppy on the edge of their own area and the ball eventualy fell for Gibbs-White who screwd his shot behind the side netting. Docucoure looked to get free but his ball to McNeil was to far in front of him. 

It was a bitty scrappy ugly first half with nothing in the way of quality football from two poor sides but two very clear chances stand out that should have seen Everton go in with a 2-goal lead. 

The Blues resumed but it was more scrappy formless football as they tried and largely failed to get the ball forward. Gana made a good pass to Harrison who weakly lost the ball. 

Forest got forward and their efforts needed some decent defending, Young giving away a free-kick. Gibbs-White put in a great ball that Branthwaite did very well to defend. The turnover should have seen Beto played in at the other end but he wasn't.  

Mykolnko and and McNeil had to block off Gibbs-White for a corner, that was scrappy and Felipe hit the post. Felipe cynically pulled back McNeil who turned him. The free-kick looked promising, but Young smacked it into the wall and behind for an Everton corner. It wa good but only Sangare was there to clear. 

Sill Everton pressed, Mykolenko mishit his shot  as a cross that was cleared.  But Everton looked to be exerting more control wuithout any clean or decisive football, Mykolenko's cross was entirley random, Garner fouled in midfield. The free-kick became  just a bizarre series of spoon balls. 

McNeil looked to play a clever ball to Gana running in, winning a corner but Beto, in the 6-yard area, heads it backwards to Gana, and away. Beto got another chance to shoot but it was woeful. 

Harrison put in a great cross but nobody there and Forest broke at pace, Gibbs-White's ball played well ahead of the leading striker.  Another Everton free-kick hoofed up and it eventually came acorss to McNeil, who did superbly  control the ball and hammer it across goal into the far top corner, an absiolutely superb strike byy the ex-Burnley men to finally give the raucous traveling Blues something to shout about. 

The match was finally ignighted as a contest, Forest willed on to respond and Everton aware that care of the ball in defence was paramount. A free-kick hoofed forward to McNeil almost saw him score a brilliant second but he had started his runa fraction too early and could not finish this time. 

Forest got a free-kick that Elanga overran, with Mykolenko and Branthwaite and he could not pull his shot back in time, hitting the side netting. Forest then wanted handball against Docucoure but his arm was well close to his body, hit at short range. 

Pickford almost got booked for messing about with a second ball at the goal-kick. Forest came surging back and Branthwaite had to defend as they fired upped their effort and intensity, with 15 minutes left.

everton thwarted another Forest attack only for Pickford to throw the ball out to a Forest player and Garner had to make the block to stop an equalizer. Pickford then had to hurl himsself at Elanga to stop whay looked like a certain Forest goal.

Beto spun Felipe and was dragged back but no second yellow fur the Forest man. Why not? Garner with the free-kick, but Everton could not work it into a chance. Chermiti replaced Beto, like for like, and the dreaded Origi on for Forest. 

And it was fuel for a yet more intense Forest effort to get back into the game, and more stalwart defending from Everton. Time for possession fotbal from the Blues (What?) Time and again, they gave the ball aawy and Forest surged forward in numbers. Murillo forced Pickford into a full-strecth save, parried out. 

Mykolenko's defensive header was horrific and Elanga's shot came so close to shaving the far post with Pickford scrambling to cover. Garner almost played in Chermiti but Frest stole the ball back as 4 minutes were added on. 

Some tremndous Blues defending was in order as Forest threw everything they could at the Blues, cross after cross coming in but getting cleared in a desparate sequence of play from both sides.

And the whislte finally went on a tremendous victory for the Blues under the current circumstances with a fantastic aftermatch response from the massed Blues behind the goal, with chorus after chorus of "We Shall Not Be Moved". 

Nottingham Forest: Vlachodimos, Aurier, Boly (46' Felipe [Y:55']), Murillo, Toffolo (83' Origi), Sangare (65' Hudson-Odoi), Mangala, Yates, Gibbs-White, Wood, Elanga. 

Subs: Turner, Williams, Kouyate, Dominguez, Niakhate, Aina.

Everton: Pickford, Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Gana, Garner, Doucoure, Harrison, McNeil, Beto (82' Chermiti).

Subs not Used: Virginia, Patterson, Keane, Danjuma, Godfrey, Coleman, Hunt, Dobbin.

 

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