Everton 2 Nott'm Forest 0
It was another huge clash at the bottom of the table at Goodison Park. Nott’m Forest were the visitors and three points could prove massive as both teams looked to distance themselves from the bottom three. It was the ‘puncta deduci’ derby.
The Toffees started to probe the visitors’ defence in the early stages. It was akin to kid in a sweetshop window, looking in with glee but never planning on doing anything about it. Forest managed to break and tried to play their way into the Everton box.
As the ball was played in, Reyna got in front of Young to the ball, only to see the hosts’ defender kick straight through him to clear it. The referee waved away claims for a penalty and VAR again proved as effective as a CCTV still of a criminal the police want to speak to.
Looking at the replay if this wasn’t a clear and obvious error then nothing is. In the grand scheme of them, this one was up there with Neville Chamberlain giving Germany the Sudetenland. From an Everton perspective, they had definitely got away with one.
Credit: @premierleague
Everton continued to press in the Forest half and McNeil swung a cross in towards the back post. His header at goal was weak and easily saved by Sels, while the better option would have been heading it down into the path of an unmarked Onana in the middle of the box.
Mykolenko then tried to swing a cross into the box from out wide. It was half-cleared out to Gueye, who was not closed down and got a shot off at goal. It squirmed into the bottom corner of the goal with the Forest keeper not able to react quickly enough to get there.
Goodison Park erupted, they know the importance of victory in this bottom of the table clash. Only Sheff Utd and Burnley had won less home games this season than The Toffees. This needed to change if they are to secure their top-flight status.
Sean Dyche’s side continued to assert their dominance for the remainder of the half without managing to create a clear-cut chance. The visitors broke and as the ball was played into the back post, Wood struck it with venom but Pickford made a great block to deny him.
Gibbs-White then drifted a ball into the back post that was met on the volley by Hudson-Odoi. He immediately appealed for a penalty but again the referee was not interested. The replay showed it struck Young’s arm but it is all down to perception of the natural position of a human arm.
They certainly weren’t by his side so maybe the rules have changed. Now the question is, were his arms in the natural position for an inflatable tube man guy, so often seen outside car sales showrooms. If that is now the rule, then yes, they were.
Credit: @premierleague
Into the second half and Danilo threaded a pass in behind the Everton defence. Hudson-Odoi tried to get on the end of it but he was bundled over by Young. Once again Forest asked for a penalty, once again computer says no. This one was probably the worst of the three.
Murillo played a direct ball forward and Tarkowski half-cleared. The ball dropped to Gibbs-White, with Pickford off his line. He opted to shoot for the far corner but got it all wrong as it went wide. In reality, he would have been better off looking to lift it over the keeper.
With time running out, The Toffees broke forward. McNeil had the ball outside the box and went for the bottom corner. His shot struck the inside of the post and ended in the back of the net. It sealed three massive points for Sean Dyche’s side.
Despite the visitors trying to find a way back into the game, Everton held on for the victory. Nott’m Forest were not happy with the officiating in the game, something everyone in the world would know as they took to social media to declare their anger.
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