Everton: Sean Dyche must drag off sloppy Dwight McNeil at HT v Nottingham Forest
Sean Dyche must drag off Dwight McNeil at half-time in the Everton game against Nottingham Forest on Sunday (21 April).
The 24-year-old started on the left-hand side of the attack despite the Toffees boss making several changes to his lineup from the team that lost 6-0 against Chelsea.
The English winger was sloppy on the ball throughout the first half after struggling for form lately, much like the majority of the Blues squad.
It was a tricky start to the game for Dyche side’s, with Forest creating a couple of excellent opportunities to take an early lead.
The Everton defence were caught cold as gaps appeared in and around their box, but the visitors’ attackers showed precisely why their side are also in the relegation battle with their lack of composure in front of goal.
The Toffees did start to get a foothold in the game midway through the half as they pushed forward and looked to create some chances.
They were perhaps fortunate to not concede a penalty when Ashley Young appeared to catch Giovanni Reyna inside the box, but the contact was adjudged to not have been enough for VAR to intervene.
It wasn’t long after that incident that Idrissa Gueye handed the Blues a surprise lead when his long-range effort crept into the bottom corner.
Despite receiving that boost just before the half-hour mark, they didn’t exactly kick on from that moment, as they lacked a cutting edge in the final third.
McNeil was one of the primary culprits of that, having recorded just a 63 per cent pass success rate with his 23 touches of the ball [SofaScore].
The winger only found a teammate with one of his three crosses into the box and gave away possession on 10 occasions as he lacked composure on the ball.
He hasn’t been in great form over the past few months, recording just one assist since the turn of the year.
With Arnaut Danjuma back on the bench, perhaps he could provide more going forward for the Blues and help them earn a vital three points at Goodison, having gone in at the break with a 1-0 lead.
In other Everton news, Stan Collymore has shared a Sean Dyche sack verdict.
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