Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has urged on his side to be more effective in converting their chances after they lost 0-2 to Everton in Tuesday’s Premier League clash, SportPremi reports.
The Tricky Trees enjoyed the Lions share of possession and had more chances in the match, but were punished by one of their former players as a clinical Everton side grabbed maximum points.
James Garner, who played for the club between 2021 and 2022 before leaving for Merseyside, opened scoring and provided the assist for the second as the Toffees grabbed a big win.
Thierno Barry added the second as Forest’s struggles in front of goal this season continued.
Garner hunts Forest as Everton claim victory
Everton’s last win in the English Premier League was a 3-0 result against Nottingham Forest in November, as they were without a win in December.
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had lost both of their last two matches and needed a response amid early relegation battles.
The visitors absorbed early pressure from the home side and went ahead in the 19th minute as Garner produced a fine finish past John Victor.
Forest dominated possession, but the closest they came in the first half was when Zinchenko tested Jordan Pickford from a freekick, which the England goalkeeper saved.
The Tricky Trees continued their dominance in the second half and wasted several goalscoring chances as they chased an equalizer.
Sean Dyche brought on Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi as they hoped for a goal, but their profligacy in front of goal continued.
Garner showed his class once again, beating Murillo before a superb through ball to Barry, who scored his second goal for Everton after also netting in the 3-0 reverse fixture last month.
Everton held on for the win and move up to eighth on the standings, while Forest remain 17th, four points ahead of the drop zone.
What Sean Dyche said after Everton defeat
Nottingham Forest’s poor form in front of goal continued against Everton and despite dominating much of the clash, they struggled to find the back of the net.
The Tricky Trees rank 19th in goals scored this season in the EPL, their tally of 18 from 19 games only more than bottom-placed Wolves, who have scored only 11 times.
“Credit to them. They defended excellently. We conceded two very soft goals and we are very frustrated. There is a lot to do. That is a reminder”, the Forest manager admitted.
“Moyes’ teams are always organised. I’ve worked with them and know all of them, they are a hard team to break down. Our effective players were not effective. We didn’t deal with it.
“This club should have expectation but it is dealing with that, that is the next step for these players. We dominated the game but you have to find the cutting edge”, Dyche concluded.
Nottingham Forest will hope for an improvement in the new year as they begin their 2026 with a tough test against Aston Villa on the 3rd of January.
