Everton left the City Ground with mixed feelings after a draw with Nottingham Forest that hinted at progress but in which a win slipped through their grasp late on.
Brennan Johnson's late equaliser prevented Everton from securing a morale-boosting away win that would have lifted the Blues out of the bottom three and to within a point of their hosts. It was not to be, but Sean Dyche was clear that he could take positives from a display in which Everton scored twice for the first time since October.
After a fiery game in the east Midlands, here are some moments that may have been overlooked in the initial post-match assessments.
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Michael Keane makes a contribution at the top end of the pitch
Michael Keane made only his second start in the Premier League this season. Retaining the place he was given at Arsenal in midweek, it now looks like the 30-year-old may have risen from sixth choice centre back to first choice.
He was in the 141st minute of his season when he headed the ball into the path of Abdoulaye Doucoure to put Everton in the lead for the second time. His role in that goal means he has now recorded more assists for Everton this season than winger Anthony Gordon did in his 16 games before leaving for Newcastle United after handing in a transfer request and not turning up for training in January.
James Garner is back and his warm-up finish was a joy to behold
Everton have suffered from a lack of depth throughout this season and Sean Dyche had taken to naming five defenders among his nine substitutes during recent games. There was a new name involved in a Dyche matchday squad on Sunday however, James Garner returning from a long-term back injury to be involved in a senior squad for the first time since he started the Carabao Cup game at Bournemouth in November.
As the warm-up headed into its final moments before kick-off, Garner was one of several players taking on shooting practice and produced the best finish of the session, calmly stroking an effort into the side netting from 20 yards. It was a gorgeous strike - the type of which would be very welcome in Everton's battle for survival.
FIVE players linked with Everton in the Forest squad
There was a sense of ‘what might have been’ when Everton supporters left Nottingham having conceded a late equaliser. There was a similar sense when the matchday squads were announced. Forest’s huge spending since promotion to the Premier League has been well documented, and contrasts heavily to Everton’s approach in recent transfer windows. In their squad on Sunday were a host of names linked to Everton during the past two transfer windows. Andre Ayew, who Forest signed on a free in early February, and Emmanuel Dennis, who the Blues were linked to in the summer, both came on.
Jesse Lingard, who held talks with Everton in the summer stayed on the bench, while Morgan Gibbs-White, whose move to the east Midlands Everton reportedly tried to hijack, was perhaps the game’s best player. Even Brennan Johnson, who scored both goals for the home side, was said to be a target when it was unclear whether his side would be promoted from the Championship. Of those linked during the windows, Gibbs-White will likely have been the one Everton supporters craved the most after the match.
Everton’s xG continues to trend upwards
When it comes to assessing Everton’s current predicament much of the focus, understandably, is on the lack of goals. While the main issue is not having an obvious replacement in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence, Sean Dyche has sought to spread the burden across the whole team in his public comments so far. Before Forest, the two Blues goals under his reign had come from defenders.
On Sunday Demarai Gray and Abdoulaye Doucoure added the first contributions from a forward and a midfielder respectively. Everton need to find goals in order to survive and that will not be easy. But it is fair to say Everton’s chances are improving. The xG - expected goals rating - for the Forest draw was just over 1.7. In every game under Dyche with the exception of the Anfield Merseyside derby Everton have recorded an xG in excess of 1.5. Everton did not record an xG that broke 1.5 in any of Frank Lampard’s final eight Premier League games.
Friends reunited
This was a match full of blood and thunder through the 90 minutes, with several hearty tackles flying in and plenty of yellow cards dished out. Everton earned five of the eight bookings awarded by referee John Brooks, with Tom Davies, Seamus Coleman, James Tarkowski, Ben Godfrey and Dwight McNeil sanctioned for their misdemeanours. Yet while it was tense on the pitch, off it there were several friendly pitchside chats after the final whistle.
After the game Doucoure took to Instagram to share a picture of him meeting up with former Watford teammate Adlene Guedioura while Idrissa Gueye shared a selfie taken between him, Amadou Onana and Forest player Cheikhou Kouyate in the tunnel.
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