TRICKY TOFFEES
Nottingham Forest 0 Everton 1: Tricky Trees suffer devastating Champions League blow after Doucoure’s late winner
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SUPER-SUB Dwight McNeil came off the bench after 90 minutes.
Yet he still found time to conjure up a dramatic stoppage time winner for Abdoulaye Doucoure to puncture Forest's Champions League hopes.
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McNeil's late arrival turned this dreadful affair on its head just as we all assumed it was going to peter out into a soulless, goalless draw.
He pounced on a hesitant Murillo to rob the Brazilian deep in Forest's half before setting up Doucoure to fire past Matz Sels to snatch three hard-earned points.
It was a dramatic smash and grab job but Forest couldn't complain after they produced one of their worst home performances of a stellar season.
They had kept a clean sheet in their last four outings at the City Ground but seemed content to settle for a fifth when disaster struck.
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Nuno Esperito Santo's men have now lost their last two games and are suffering a dose of the jitters at the wrong time of the season.
Forest came out to be greeted by three huge banners in the Trent End.
The main one had an image of Nuno Espirito Santo dressed as a magician surrounded by a deck of playing cards.
Underneath two banners said simply: "Nottingham Forest are magic."
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But there was precious little magic on show at the City Ground during a dour first half which Everton bossed without being brilliant.
And sadly, the second half wasn't much better until David Moyes pulled a rabbit out of the hat by sending on McNeil.
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Everton just about deserved the victory after Moyes' men had the lion's share of first-half possession.
But all they had to show for it at the break were a couple of shots from Iliman Ndiaye and James Garner and a header from Ndiaye which Matz Sels easily saved.
Forest were equally toothless, even with the return of top scorer Chris Wood from injury.
Their best first-half efforts both came from Jack Grealish-lookalike Jota Silva.
But the little Portuguese forward lacked a killer touch.
His first shot on goal midway through a pitiful first-half was more like a passback to Jordan Pickford.
His second attempt, a header, also failed to trouble the England No.1.
Callum Hudson-Odoi did manage to sting Pickford's palms with a fiercely hit shot in first-half stoppage time.
But most fans would have rather spent 45 minutes having root canal treatment than put up with more of the same in the second half.
There is a steely determination to Moyes' Everton who are no longer the soft touches they were at times earlier this season.
Early on Jarrad Branthwaite was lucky to escape a yellow card when he barged Jota Silva with his shoulder in an off-the-ball incident which floored the little attacker.
But he wasn't so lucky when he flattened the Portuguese winger just before half-time to earn a booking.
He joined Abdoulaye Doucoure in referee Craig Pawson's notebook after the Everton midfielder hauled down Neco Williams earlier in the half.
But they still lack that killer touch up front and, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin still weeks away from regaining match fitness, they simply didn't have a cutting edge.
There were some promising signs that a match might just be about to break out early in the second half.
Callum Hudson-Odoi cut inside Jake O'Brien and drilled in a low shot which Pickford did well to smother.
Then James Tarkowski sent Ndiaye clear but Matz Sels sprinted off his line to brilliantly block.
At the other end Alex Moreno picked Morgan Gibbs-White out in the box.
But for once Forest's £100million-rated midfielder couldn't conjure up something special and his volley with the outside of his right boot was easily gathered by Pickford.
Both managers have turned to their bench and made changes.
Anthony Elanga and Ryan Yates replaced Jota Silva and Nicolas Dominguez for Forest.
Meanwhile Beto and Carlos Alcaraz came on for Broja and Ndiaye for the Toffees.
When Davie Moyes turned to his bench for the final time in the 90th minute it seemed like little more than a time-wasting tactic to run down the clock.
Yet Dwight McNeil produced more in four minutes on the park than everyone else had in the 90 minutes beforehand.
He silenced the City Ground as he set up a dramatic stoppage time winner.
Forest fans' favourite Murillo blotted his copybook with a rare mistake as he dithered on the ball.
McNeil smelled blood and robbed him of possession.
Forest's defence was spreadeagled and McNeil had two options with Alcaraz and Doucoure up in support.
He made the correct decision to play in Doucoure who kept his cool to clip the ball beyond the onrushing Matz Sels to sucker Forest and earn his side an unexpected three points.
Murillo meanwhile sank to his knees, head in hands, as the enormity of his blunder sank in.
In truth he was fortunate not to concede a penalty minutes earlier when he flattened Beto at the edge of his box only for a VAR check to confirm the offence had taken place a fraction outside the box.
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