Sean Dyche returned to Everton a changed man, but it was his old club that looked transformed. In a slick new Hill Dickinson Stadium, a far cry from the administration-threatened turmoil he once averted, David Moyes’ side dismantled Nottingham Forest 3-0, leaping to fifth in the Premier League and leaving their former saviour to rue a dismal day.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was the metronome in midfield, orchestrating a blistering opener after just 83 seconds and capping the rout with the third. Sandwiched in between, Thierno Barry finally broke his duck, rifling home in his 17th outing to ignite the home crowd. It marked a fourth win in five for Moyes’ charges, their biggest victory of the season sealed by an identical run of clean sheets.
“I want us to try to be close to Europe,” beamed Moyes, savouring the progress since his January appointment. “We’re not going to win every game – a loss to Newcastle next won’t be a disaster – but we’re making strides.”
Everton, stung by conceding after 55 seconds in their last home outing against the Magpies, wasted no time atoning. Forest’s woes began almost immediately: Nicolò Savona was cautioned after 24 seconds for hacking down Jack Grealish.
James Garner’s free-kick was cleared, but Dewsbury-Hall, immaculate again, jinked inside Dan Ndoye, lofting a cross that glanced off Nikola Milenkovic’s head and past helpless keeper Matz Sels. A nightmare start for Forest, who had dismantled Liverpool 3-0 here a fortnight prior.
The visitors clawed back some poise, but a scrappy first half, with just 18 of 40 minutes played, offered scant threat to Jordan Pickford. James Tarkowski’s barge on Ndoye went unpunished, a flashpoint Dyche decried as VAR oversight, though he graciously credited Everton’s “real desire”.
The second arrived at a perfect juncture, just before half-time. Elliot Anderson’s shot, squeezed through Tarkowski’s legs after outpacing Jake O’Brien, was parried brilliantly by Pickford. But Forest’s momentum evaporated in an instant. Omari Hutchinson’s errant touch let Iliman Ndiaye snatch possession deep in his own half.
The Senegalese star, unassisted by referee Chris Kavanagh, despite Dyche’s grumble – surged forward, evaded Morato, and teed up Barry for a cool, first-time finish. The £27m summer arrival from Villarreal, lauded for his graft but goalless until now, sparked pandemonium. “I was as pleased for the fans as for the lad,” Moyes said. “Their backing makes a difference.”
Dewsbury-Hall’s tidy third, a deflected curler, rounded off the procession. Dyche, whose side improved post-interval but lacked bite, pointed to officiating quirks, including a ball ricocheting off the ref for Everton’s second. Yet on a day of stark contrasts, it was Moyes’ incisive, confident Everton, unrecognisable from Dyche’s gritty survivalists, that shone brightest. Europe beckons; for Forest, questions loom.
With input from BBC Sport
