What the papers say: Nottingham Forest v Everton

One goal separated Nottingham Forest and Everton as the away side left the City Ground with all three points. Here’s what the national newspapers had to say

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The Guardian

Dwight McNeil’s first goal of the season enabled Everton to extend their impressive away record and move to within two points of the safety zone as they showed their off-field fight against their 10-point penalty will be matched on the pitch.

The left winger scored with a superb shot with the outside of his boot midway through the second half as Everton won their third successive away match in the Premier League, making it 13 points from seven games on their travels. The result should give their supporters belief that their top-flight status can be secured, regardless of the outcome of their appeal against the penalty for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

Forest, with only victory in 10 matches, failed to find enough “guile and creativity” according to their manager, Steve Cooper. Heart and soul may not be enough if they cannot re-find their rhythm, especially now they have misplaced their unbeaten home record over these past two games. Trips to Fulham and Wolves this week are looking significant for Cooper.

The Times

Everton showed that they will not be going anywhere without a fight after a big win against Nottingham Forest put them within two points of safety.

Had it not been for their ten-point deduction it would have been three points that sent them above Forest in the table, instead they edged that little bit closer to getting out of the relegation zone and in doing so increased the pressure on Steve Cooper.

Dwight McNeil was the hero for Sean Dyche’s side, as they edged a battle that was low on quality, with a stunning second-half strike which left Forest with just one win in ten.

Club sources this week said that Forest’s head coach was not under immediate threat but there is an acceptance that results need to improve and this display was lacking in both result and performance.

The Telegraph

Everton’s fight against the Premier League is now underway, after launching their appeal against a 10-point deduction and producing a victory which proves this team has the quality to avoid relegation.

As the mist rolled in from the River Trent across the City Ground, Everton removed the gloom that has hung over their club to move closer towards the dreaded dotted line above them.

Here was clear evidence of the siege mentality that manager Sean Dyche has been determined to build, as their anger over the “unfair” sanctions continues to boil.

Dyche never made the grade here as a young Nottingham Forest trainee but has done rather better as a manager, extending his unbeaten record against his old club to eight matches.

Their burning sense of injustice over that 10-point deduction will hang over the entire campaign yet this was exactly the spirited display Dyche will be demanding.

The Independent

Dwight McNeil’s second-half goal clinched Everton a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and lifted them off the foot of the Premier League table.

Everton had slipped to the bottom before the late kick-off at the City Ground after Burnley’s win against relegation rivals Sheffield United.

But McNeil lashed home the only goal to clinch Everton a morale-boosting victory one day after the club lodged their appeal against their 10-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

Everton, who have not lost at the City Ground since 1995, notched their third win in five league matches to climb to within two points of safety while Forest slipped to a third straight defeat and back-to-back home losses.

Wayward finishing and heroic defending ensured a goalless first half as both sides spurned scoring chances.

The Mail

Talk of anything sub-zero is enough to put Everton on edge. Minus 10 already and even Sean Dyche opted for a light jacket on a day when the icy mists really did roll over the River Trent.

But they are warming to the challenge, collecting their first points since the punishment for breaking financial rules. In doing so, they hauled Nottingham Forest a little closer into peril and nudged Steve Cooper a little closer to the exit.

Dwight McNeil scored the only goal, a wonderfully sweet half-volley midway through the second half, and Everton were worth the win, having created and squandered two glorious chances in the first half.

Forest did not manage a shot on target until they were behind and when they did rally late in the game found Dyche’s team primed to resist. Central defenders James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite were strong, James Garner excelled in midfield and Jordan Pickford was alert to danger when it finally came his way.

They returned to Merseyside nursing the warm glow of three points. Everton have not lost at the City Ground since September 1995 when Dyche’s assistant Ian Woan scored Forest’s decisive third in a 3-2 win.

The Sun

Spider-Man fanatic Dwight McNeil was Everton’s super-hero as he helped the Toffees climb off the bottom of the table.

Sean Dyche’s men dominated Forest but, without the cutting edge of injured striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, they struggled in front of goal.

Until midway through the second-half when McNeil produced some heroics his cartoon hero would have approved of.

The £20million winger pounced on Chris Wood’s headed clearance to smash the ball high beyond Serge Aurier and Odysseas Vlachodimos into the roof of the Forest net.

It was a goal which always looked likely to settle a dour 90 minutes and despite Murillo forcing a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford and Anthony Elanga going close in the dying minutes, Everton were well worth the win.

It left Forest looking at back-to-back home defeats and with just one win in 10 games the pressure is beginning to pile up on Steve Cooper.

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