It is now 112 days that Nottingham Forest have occupied the Premier League’s top four, and the nerves are now jangling at the business end.
Forest’s fans are experiencing the full pendulum of emotions in the club’s pursuit of the Champions League and this was an excruciating afternoon at the City Ground.
On what was a fine advertisement for Premier League integrity, Everton have shaken up the race for Europe at the other end of the table with a disciplined performance and a late hammer-blow winner from Abdoulaye Doucouré.
Forest had been dicing with danger all afternoon. Their stadium has proved a potent weapon in their stirring season but here it was transformed into an arena of anxiety.
It was the first defeat in front of their own supporters since November 10 and leaves them four points above sixth-placed Chelsea, who face Ipswich Town on Sunday.
Yet this was a curiously underwhelming display, in front of former Arsenal sporting director Edu, who is set to take on a senior multi-club role across Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis’s football operations.
While Forest are still in an excellent position, results such as this underline the huge pressure and what is at stake. It has to be remembered that Forest have been battling relegation for the two previous seasons.
The crucial moment came five minutes into added time. A mistake from centre-back Murillo on the halfway line allowed Everton to break with a numerical advantage and substitute Dwight McNeil crossed to Doucouré, who finished to spark wild scenes of celebration in the away end.
With an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City looming later this month, it felt like a worrying time to produce such a display.
Nuno Espírito Santo appeared frustrated all afternoon in his technical area, and admitted there were no positives to take. “We cannot get away from the fact that it is a decisive moment of the season. We were not comfortable and the fans also saw the boys were struggling,” the Forest manager said.
“Nobody is going to give us anything and we need to do it ourselves. We were not comfortable and didn’t play good. We are in this position and we want to try to give it a go. It is up to us to improve and compete much better – like we did before.”
Here was further evidence of the David Moyes effect, and how some managers seem to have an affinity with certain clubs. Everton are virtually safe from relegation and this was only their second win in the last nine matches, but it was thoroughly deserved.
Moyes always thrives in these types of games and his team were set up perfectly to frustrate Forest. Everton are now above Tottenham ...
