Everton secured a 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon, with the crucial win seeing the Blues now five points clear of the bottom three in the Premier League.

Idrissa Gana Gueye fired the Toffees into a first-half lead with a well-taken finish from the edge of the 18-yard-box – the midfielder’s first goal since his winner in the 3-2 victory against Crystal Palace in November.

Pushing on in a tight second half, Everton found a vital second goal to double their advantage. On 77 minutes, Dwight McNeil – in his 200^th Premier League appearance – struck for the Toffees, sending Goodison into a bouncing atmosphere with his powerful-low effort from 25 yards out.  

Manager Sean Dyche made four changes to the starting line-up from Monday’s defeat at Chelsea, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin – absent through injury last time out – coming back into the side, along with Gana, Andre Gomes, and Jack Harrison.

Heading into the encounter, the game represented an opportunity for Everton to complete their first league double over Forest since the 1996/97 season, and a chance for the 16th-placed Blues to create separation between them and the 17th-placed Forest, who arrived on Merseyside a point behind the hosting Toffees.

Forest began the game on the front foot, highlighted when Neco Williams forced an early save from Jordan Pickford in the fifth minute. The shot-stopper – in his 250^th Premier League appearance for the Club - pushed it away, and Everton responded with a strong spell of their own possession.

Searching for an opener, Everton saw early set pieces comfortably defended by Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, before the Blues registered their first effort on goal after 27 minutes. Calvert-Lewin leapt highest in the box to meet McNeil’s deep cross, but it made for a simple save for Forest goalkeeper, Matz Sels.

Everton’s second shot on target provided the game’s first goal, with Gana striking the Blues into the lead on 29 minutes. Forest full-back Ola Aina headed away the Toffees’ cross from the left, and the ball fell to Gana, who, on the edge of the box, took a touch to bring the ball down, before rifling an effort into the bottom-left corner.

Lifted by the goal, Everton continued their positive start, but the visitors replied dangerously, and almost notched an equaliser through Chris Wood – five minutes from half-time. Pickford was on hand, reacting brilliantly to produce a save from point-black range on his right post.

His emotional reaction to the save epitomised the spirit of a determined Everton side, who headed into the interval with a 1-0 lead.

Shortly after the restart, Forest sprung a threat, when Wood’s flicked header on the half-way line found Callum Hudson-Odoi in space, running towards the Everton goal. A powerful and pacey recovery run from Vitalii Mykolenko saw the full-back manage to catch up with play to defend the opportunity.

Less than 10 minutes into the half, Calvert-Lewin came close to doubling the Everton lead from a McNeil corner. The striker flashed an effort narrowly wide after Tarkowski’s back-post header fell to the striker in a crowded Forest penalty area.

Everton’s first reinforcements arrived on 66 minutes, when Beto and James Garner replaced Calvert-Lewin and Andre Gomes – an attempt from the Toffees to reclaim control against a high-energy Forest team, who looked to be growing in confidence as the game approached its final quarter.

A nervy Goodison watched on as the closely-contested half continued, as both sides strived for a crucial goal.

However, it was Everton who found that goal. On 76 minutes, the Toffees had worked their way up the field with a well-worked string of passes. They neared the final third and Doucoure laid the ball to McNeil on the edge of the penalty area. The winger – who netted the winner against Forest in December – quickly found space, before producing a perfectly-placed low shot into the opposition goal.

McNeil tested goalkeeper Sels shortly after as the Blues – in a bouncing Goodison Park – resumed their push for more goals.

The visiting team had 66 per cent of the ball in the final 15 minutes of the 90, but Everton battled admirably to keep their two-goal lead. A surprising nine minutes were added on, and not long into additional time, the game was brought to a halt when Beto suffered a worrying head injury - after clashing at pace with Morgan Gibbs-White.

Stretchered off the field in the 100th minute, the stadium applauded as the fallen striker left the field. He was replaced by Youssef Chermiti to see out the final minutes of stoppage time. 

An impressive recovery from Monday's disappointing defeat, Everton held on for the three points. Attention now turns to Wednesday, when they host Liverpool in the Merseyside derby.