Everton 2-0 Nottingham Forest: The Toffees respond to Sean Dyche’s impassioned midweek speech – as Idrissa Gueye and Dwight McNeil both score from long range to seal vital relegation victory

It was 3:37 p.m. when Anthony Taylor blew the whistle and Goodison Park started to bounce. Within seconds, someone, somewhere posted a tweet for Nottingham Forest and social media – and then the wider football world – began to shake.

Nottingham Forest, deservedly, had lost to Everton. Nuno Espirito Santo, their beleaguered head coach, at least had the grace to acknowledge that his team had made mistakes, that the opponents they had faced were intelligent and clinical and that the mistakes had proved costly.

But… There had to be a “but”. As handshakes were exchanged, an official statement from Forest was being digested. It had clearly been loaded and ready to go for some time, and as you read it over and over again, your breath was taken away.

“Three extremely bad decisions – three unpronounced sanctions – that we simply cannot accept,” they wrote. “We warned the PGMOL that the VAR was a Luton fan before the match but they did not change it. Our patience was tested on several occasions. The NFCC will now consider their options.

Will they really do it? You can well imagine that Stuart Attwell, who oversaw this match from Stockley Park, will also be considering his own options. Being criticized is one thing; actually being accused of a lack of impartiality by a football club is another matter entirely. It’s an absolute disgrace.

Idrissa Gueye opened the scoring with a long-range strike in the 29th minute of the match.

This means Everton have picked up only their second win in their last 16 Premier League games.

Forest have had a persecution complex towards referees all season, behaving as if they were the only club to have made a decision the wrong way. This afternoon, however, they crossed the line and will now rightly find themselves subject to an FA investigation.

The explosion was caused by three moments, in the 23rd, 44th and 55th minutes. First, Ashley Young appeared to have cut Giovanni Reyna inside the area. You will have seen such fouls punished this season but, on this occasion, neither Taylor nor Attwell felt there was a case to answer.

The second – arguably the most controversial – was handball. Callum Hudson-Odoi tried to push away a ball, it hit Young’s outstretched arm. Again, nothing was wrong, but it lit a fuse: Rui Pedro Silva, Nuno’s assistant, was condemned for his heated and prolonged objections.

Finally, Young and Hudson-Odoi clashed as Forest tried to get back into the game, having fallen behind to a fine strike from Idrissa Gana Gueye in the 27th minute. Again, all claims were denied. And that’s what made someone start typing.

“I share (the club’s view) because I saw the images,” Nuno said softly. “You see it so clearly that you don’t understand why the decision was against us. The situation with Gio Reyna in the first half was clear and there was a handball incident and something with Callum and Ashley Young.

“I share the club’s feeling. It’s been a while. That’s not an excuse. We are not comfortable with the referees. I am aware of the complaint that the club was uncomfortable with VAR but that is not important if they are a fan of another club. He sits on a chair, he has time to evaluate the images.

The problem, however, is that whoever was at the City Ground will have had time to assess what he was going to say and they will also have been well aware of the implications. It is shameful and the constant attacks on officials are weak, failing to recognize their own shortcomings.

And there were many gaps here. With a little more class and a little more composure, Forest could have taken advantage of the insecurities Everton felt ahead of the competition after their 6-0 bombing at Stamford Bridge last Monday. The home fans were nervous, the players uncertain.

Forest posted a bizarre tweet after the match, lashing out at the officials and claiming the VAR was a Luton fan.

It’s an excellent strike from Gueye who scores his second league goal of the season.

Dwight McNeil followed up with a second long-range strike in the second half to seal the victory

There was relief for the Toffees as they moved five points clear of the relegation zone

There was a worrying injury in the final minutes of the match as Beto took on Morgan Gibbs-White.

Beto was taken off the field on a stretcher but gave a thumbs up to fans at Goodison Park

But Forest, who will find out the outcome of their appeal on Wednesday against the Premier League’s decision to deduct points for breaching the PSR, look exactly like what they are: a team assembled on a blindfolded trolley rushing through the transfer market.

Everton, gradually, got going and they did so thanks to an error from Forest. Ola Aina weakly headed Vitalii Mykolenko’s cross, only as far as Gueye, and the Senegalese midfielder swept his shot past Forest keeper Matz Sels to fuel the tension.

Another mistake from Forest on the hour had consequences. Morgan Gibbs-White, so often a beacon for his team, found himself clear after James Tarkowski missed a clearance, but lacked the composure to apply a finish: you can’t miss chances from this nature and hope to prosper.

It was a difficult result for Forest, who have not won in their last three league matches.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are now just one point clear of the relegation zone after the defeat.

Dyche got a response from his Everton team after impassioned midweek speech

Emboldened to move forward, Everton – whose defense was excellent and for whom Jordan Pickford excelled, his moment coming when he enthusiastically denied Chris Wood – sensed the opportunity to take the game to the away from their relegation rivals.

In the 76th minute, Dwight McNeil advanced, without much pressure, and exchanged passes with James Garner then Abdoulaye Doucoure. With no tackle taking place, the winger took his chance by sweeping a 25-yard shot off the post. Game over.

“Without deductions we would have 38 points and that would be a step forward,” Dyche said. “The reality is that we are not yet safe. This is a big, important victory. It’s certainly within our capabilities to ensure that, but it would be nice if people didn’t take points away from us!’

Nuno, unsurprisingly, was less relaxed.

“We are talking about the game, we should blame ourselves, we have clear chances that we should have done better,” he grumbled. “But I look at the game and the referee. We live in this atmosphere of uncertainty. We have 30 points, we have 26. We appeal because we think we are right.

As for what they put out there on social media and beyond, they were wrong. This is very, very wrong.