Everton are at home to Nottingham Forest, with Sean Dyche playing his first game against the club he formerly managed.
The big news for Everton is that Michael Keane, who is living a second life in Everton’s back four this season, is declared fit and returns to the starting line-up. He is the only change, with Tim Iroegbunam suspended after picking up his 5th yellow card of the season.
David Moyes underlines his lack of faith in promoting players from the Academy, with yet again the incomprehensible selection of two substitute goalkeepeers and only six outfield players on the bench, Eli Campbell, the only player from the U21s. Röhl and Branthwaite are both still recovering from operations.
Forest are unchanged.
First Half
The Blues kicked off in time-honoured fashion but was Savona booked after just 25 seconds for his first tackle on Grealish. Garner’s free-kick was cleared but Everton worked it around for a brilliant cross-cum-shot from Dewsbury-Hall that goes in off Milenkovic (own-goal)! 1-0!!!
After that excellent start, Everton kept up the play in Forest’s half. But Tarkowski fouled Igor Jesus but Everton took back the ball and kept pushing up. Dewsbury-Hall twisted and played in Keane who was high up and threatening.
Ndoye got the needles out, Tarkowski objecting to something and shoving him in the back. The Forest player went down as if shot in the face. No repercussions and play eventually resumed albeit with a touch of aggression from the Blues. But Forest persisted, Savona’s cross headed inches wide by Jesus.
Grealish had to join the defence as Forest tried to apply pressure until Dewsbury-Hall was fouled. Everton pressed but it looked like Forest had covered when Williams gifted the ball to Dewsbury-Hall and Sels had to get across to spoon away his powerful goalbound shot.
Barry was winning balls and getting some good touches but Everton went backwards. Ndiaye collected a great crossfield ball but then tripped over it. Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall had to get back and defend.
Barry bounced off Milenkovoc challenging for an aerial ball, and he stayed down but got no call. Dewsbury-Hall released Grealish in space and Mykolenko’s cross was defended behind for a corner. A brilliant Garner corner headed away at the near post, eventually fell to Ndiaye, whose shot was blocked behind by an arm but VAR said no penalty.
Barry went down again after Milenkovic grabbed his arm, which seemed to trigger shoulder pain from his earlier fall. Magic tape required, but to his undershirt and not his shoulder! Ndoye beat Grealish and forced a corner that Everton half-cleared before Milenkovic won another.
The corner was headed out by O’Brien and Hutchinson inadvertently handled the throw-in. Jesus did the same trick from another throw-in but no call.
Mykolenko had no idea what Grealish was planning and failed to overlap. With the game having gone a bit flat, Mykolenko going for a long throw that eventually went back to P{ickford then out off Ndiaye. But the forward build was just not working for the Blues.
Barry’s approach to learning the physicality of the Premier League was to walk into Milenkovic, Forest coming close from the resulting free-kick. Forest kept woorking it around with much more energy than Everton and Anderson came very close to beating Pickford.
But Everton then got a three on one counter, Alcaraz running with Ndiaye playing in Theirno Barry to score his first Everton goal with a fine side-footed shot inside the post, with almost the last action of the first half.
Second Half
Sean Dyche responded with three changes, but the football didn’t show many signs of improving despite the splendid 2-goal lead until Alcaraz had a good run in but under close supervision and unable to pull the trigger.
Forest did get a looping cross in to Jesus but he could only nod it toward Pickford. O’Brien got away with a bodycheck on Morata. Alcaraz got a chance to advance but Milenkovic had other ideas, fouling him from behind.
Free-kick from Garner smacked into the wall, but Grealsih played in a great ball to Garner who passed it to Sels rather than hitting it with sufficient force.
At the other end, Williams almost got through but for a block by Tarkowski. The corner was met by Millenkovic but cleared by Keane. Barry then came across Milenkovic who overacted massively, earning Barry a yellow card to go with his goal.
The hour-mark approached, as did Beto to the touchline, and he got stuck in to some good running and interceptions. The football was still terrible but the Hill DIckinson Stadium was happy beneath the scoreboard.
Everton did their best to gift Forest a goal, Pickford thanking Tarkowski for a fantastic block to save his blushes after a poor punch that fell to Dominguez.
Mykolenko won a free-kick but could not catch Grealish’s forward pass.
There was right old tussle for the ball in midfield, Gibbs-White accused of a raised arm against Dewsbury-Hall but only a free-kick after protestations to the referee.
Garner through he could get Everton playing down the right but drove his cross against a defender, Everton eventually winning a corner off Abbott. Another fantastic delivery from Garner, a second played out toward Grealish but Forest looked to break and Tarkowski had to stop it at the expense of a yellow card.
Alcaraz was the second player to be subbed but not for Tyler Dibling, with McNeil coming on for the last 15+ minutes. McNeil adavnced with the ball and spilled it, coming across to Grealish who advanced and played a great reverse ball for Dewsbury-Hall to smack goalward, clipping the outside of the post. Possibly the best moment of football in the entire half.
Another Eberton corner was clawed away by Sels but it fell off O’Brien to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall who drilled it through the crowd and into the far corner.
A better move saw Grealish a fraction slow to pick out Beto and he could not convert it when the ball finally came his way.
With Everton finally leading a home game 3-0, Moyes thought it might be okay for Tyler Dibling to be risked for the last 5 minutes.
McNeil swung in a decent cross that Beto flung himself at, diverting it away from Dibling and past the far post.
O’Brien was booked for a robust tackle in the final minute, Hudson-Odoi skying the free-kick high ver Pickford’s goal before the Hill Dickinson Stadium could celebrate in fine style a momentous win over Dyche the Dinosaur and his team that they strongly out-muscled.
Attendance: 52,501
Neil Cremin
3 Posted
06/12/2025 at
13:55:37
There is one change Derek.
Keane for Tim.
Derek Dolan
5 Posted
06/12/2025 at
13:56:25
Sensible selection given the midfield situation.
Need Garner in there.
Kevin Molloy
7 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:03:38
Well it seems that given the choice of playing Patterson or giving Keggars a huge needle romance has won out.
Don’t be surprised if his leg falls off mind.
Sean Kearns
9 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:10:09
There is a short documentary video on YouTube about Thierno Barry where they follow him around for a day and it’s clear he doesn’t want to be here!!
He clearly states that he didn’t want to move here but his father made it clear that he has a family to support and has to chase the money….
The lad looks so disinterested when he plays,it winds me up. Beto is miles better but we are trying to keep up Barry’s value by playing him… 🙄
Come on, you Blues!!! These will let us have the ball and play their counter-attacking game. This is where having such shite focal points will kill us. Come on, Thierno lad!!! He’ll get a brace today! I can feel it.
Mark Wynne
11 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:15:59
Michael points out what I keep saying. It’s almost as though the bench is there as an excuse to his employers: “See, I’ve got no players!”
Two keepers as per usual and no trust in youth development.
Mike Dolan
12 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:20:24
A bit snide this morning Michael. Your comment on Moyes “lack of faith in the academy” is using the truth to tell a lie.
Derek Powell
13 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:22:03
Moyes would never give the youth a chance.
Michael Kenrick
14 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:25:05
Actions speak louder than words, Mike.
Or in Moyes’s case, the action of omission.
Not putting nine players on the bench in the Premier League is just fucking madness.
Putting two goalkeepers on the bench is fucking madness.
Not using Under-21 players and giving them match experience is fucking madness.
Kevin Molloy
15 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:26:47
Yes, all those youth players during Moyes’s last tenure, who he refused to play, and so they had to go elsewhere to succeed.
There was… erm, Mustafi (?) and the Spurs centre back, who he wilfully refused to play ahead of Jags and Lescott, and, er.
Yeah.
Martin Farrington
16 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:29:26
Micheal above you are right. Not sure whst Mike at 12 means.Dyche was exactly the same.
Our academy is poor. But two keepers frequently that insults fans greatly. If I owned Everton (oh to dream) Moyes would be carpeted, fined and told not to be a belligerent childish twat.
Jim Wilson
17 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:31:32
Agree Michael.
And hard to believe Patterson is a right-back. What is the point of having him if you never want to use him? Might as well have kept JonJoe Kenny.
Kevin Molloy
18 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:32:05
can we not give the manager the benefit of the doubt? that there might be a good reason why he has two keepers on the bench? Like, he probably recognises that being included in a first team squad is a massive milestone for any reserve player, and so he doesn’t want to hadnd them out like confetti just cos he’s down on a few numbers.
Kieran Kinsella
19 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:36:42
To Michaels point, if the youth aren’t good enough to actually play, sticking them on the bench at least raises their profiles.
Then, when we try and offload them, we can say “he’s been in the matchday squad” so it’s a sales pitch. If we say even if we have no subs we’d rather have an empty bench then how are we ever going to offload them?
Martin Berry
20 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:41:08
Nothing wrong with that line up considering what the Manager has at his disposal.
Also pleased that Charly Alcaraz is included, may just be the play to set up Barry to break his duck.
Alan J Thompson
21 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:42:42
Youth, he doesn’t even give imagination a chance, say, the kid who scored 2 in the Youth Cup a spot on the bench presently in use by the Invisible Man even if it is a case of “why not” rather than “why”.
Raymond Fox
22 Posted
06/12/2025 at
14:56:05
That’s a suprise, Keane fit to play.
Come on chaps it’s possible for Pickford and another keeper to get injured, not very likely granted but we look daft playing half a game without a recognised keeper.
Moyes has gone for players he trusts again, apart from 2 or 3 lapses they have performed well.
Christy Ring
24 Posted
06/12/2025 at
15:05:14
Regarding Moyes not picking academy players, he was asked about it in his press conference, and he said he’d seen very little of their matches this season?
Sean Kearns
25 Posted
06/12/2025 at
15:32:18
Thierno Fanny…. We don’t need center halves beasting our forwards at home!!!! Get Beto on and Malenkovic won’t play those games.
Sean Kearns
26 Posted
06/12/2025 at
15:51:33
Just kidding I love the lad yessssssssssssss
Alan J Thompson
27 Posted
06/12/2025 at
16:00:34
Funny old first half, we score at the beginning and at the end of the half with not a lot happening in between. I hope Mr Moyes doesn’t now give priority to being overly defensive.
I thought the early yellow for the Forest player was a bit harsh and I wasn’t even sure there was a connection and the handball denied made me wonder about the Tarkowski one some time ago and being kind the least you can say is that there’s very little consistency in the refereeing.
Also, I found the inscription on Dyche’s trackie top “next” quite amusing.
29 Posted
06/12/2025 at
16:07:06
Dave
As soon as Ndyiae took off you could see Barry’s face light up and he took off like a rocket knowing it was his chance to break his duck. I was nervous but a lovely finish.
Maybe we can get a few more. I remember Norman Whiteside terrorizing these in the late 80s and it ended up 4-0 but I’m sure Dyche has other ideas.
Kieran Kinsella
32 Posted
06/12/2025 at
16:43:19
McNeil has a Blackadder 1 haircut.
Kevin Molloy
33 Posted
06/12/2025 at
17:00:44
a scrappy three nil win.
what a ridiculous description.
