Moments missed from Everton's 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Everton moved up to fifth in the Premier League table with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest but here are some potential moments missed from the emphatic victory for David Moyes’ men over Sean Dyche’s side at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Barry’s breakthrough
After his false start against Newcastle United at Hill Dickinson Stadium as week before when what looked like his first Everton goal was disallowed for an accidental handball following a VAR check, Thierno Barry finally got off the mark in a royal blue jersey against Nottingham Forest and everyone one wanted to wish him well. The relief on the striker’s face after breaking his duck some 17 matches, 737 minutes and 19 shots (courtesy of Opta Analyst) following his £27million transfer from Villarreal was obvious.
The Frenchman’s team-mates congratulated him heartily, David Moyes put his arm around him when he substituted the player and even the stadium staff joined in the congratulations. As Barry walked down the tunnel following the final whistle, Iliman Ndiaye, who was several paces ahead and had set him up for the goal, pointed in his colleague’s direction as club captain Seamus Coleman offered the 23-year-old some words of encouragement before one of the suited and booted security staff made the frontman smile with a quip as he ushered him towards the home dressing room.
Iliman Ndiaye points towards Thierno Barry as he begins his walk through the players' tunnel at Hill Dickinson Stadium where he exchanges words with both Everton club captain Seamus Coleman and a member of the security staff after the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest
Iliman Ndiaye points towards Thierno Barry as he begins his walk through the players' tunnel at Hill Dickinson Stadium where he exchanges words with both Everton club captain Seamus Coleman and a member of the security staff after the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest
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Drop the mic Dyche
For those of you who haven’t been there yet, there’s a divide in the middle of the West Stand at Hill Dickinson Stadium where the players and staff make their way in and out of the building before and after matches which is cordoned off. A video shared on social media shows Everton’s previous manager Sean Dyche, sporting his Nottingham Forest tracksuit, being given a warm round of applause by supporters as he makes his way in from the car park by the Mersey and the former Goodison Park gaffer responds with a smile and wave to acknowledge the reception before his former Blues backroom staff Ian Woan – a lifelong Evertonian born in Heswall – and Steve Stone, follow him in.
Despite the 3-0 drubbing, Dyche was still smiling after the game as he attempted some humour in the grand media theatre at the stadium. While the assembled press pack still had no problems hearing his distinctive gravelly voice, the 54-year-old seemed to be experiencing some issues with his microphone.
Looking at the bottles that are placed on the desk in front of him for sponsorship reasons, Dyche remarked: “Maybe they spent the money on the drinks?” before adding: “Still not working is it?”
Prolific Everton greats watch on
There were a couple of Everton heroes of yesteryear making their first visits to Hill Dickinson Stadium for the Nottingham Forest game and while both of them were prolific during their respective times with the Blues, their careers at Goodison Park proved lamentably short. Gary Lineker started his career with Forest’s East Midlands rivals Leicester City before leaving his local side to join Howard Kendall’s League Champions and European Cup-Winners’ Cup winners in 1985 in an £800,000 deal.
He plundered 40 goals in all competitions in what proved to be his solitary season at Everton and then won the Golden Boot at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico before being sold to Barcelona for £2.8million, The last time that the now 65-year-old played alongside Peter Reid while they were Blues team-mates was against Diego Maradona’s Argentina in front of almost 115,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium almost 40 years ago, but the pair were reunited here by the Mersey waterfront.
Also present for his first trip to Everton’s new home was Andrei Kanchelskis. Snapped up from Manchester United for a then club record £5million fee in 1995 after Joe Royle’s ‘Dogs of War’ had defeated Alex Ferguson’s side in the FA Cup final, the Russian international’s 16 goals from the wing – after opening his account with a Merseyside Derby double to inspire a 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield – helped the Blues to finish sixth in 1995/96 for what was the club’s only top half placing in the opening decade of the Premier League.
However, in January 1997, midway through his second season on Merseyside, Kanchelskis was sold to Fiorentina for £8million. The 56-year-old’s son, who shares his name, remains a big Evertonian though, and the pair of them enjoyed the action together in the West Stand before Andrei senior posed for a photograph with other former Blues stars, including the aforementioned Lineker and Reid, plus ex-captains, Kevin Ratcliffe and Dave Watson.
Scoreboard malfunction
The giant 32m x 9m screens behind each of the goals are part of the impressive collection of modern technology that makes matchdays a spectacular sight at Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, there was a temporary glitch in the system shortly after Barry had netted his first goal for the club to put Everton 2-0 up against Nottingham Forest.
A photo shows one of the giant screens at Hill Dickinson Stadium briefly displaying an incorrect scoreline of Everton 0 Nottingham Forest 3
A photo shows one of the giant screens at Hill Dickinson Stadium briefly displaying an incorrect scoreline of Everton 0 Nottingham Forest 3
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Rather than changing from 1-0, rather confusingly the scoreboard was pictured displaying the phantom and inaccurate scoreline of Everton 0 Nottingham Forest 3! Thankfully, it was just some kind of technical error that was quickly rectified – perhaps somebody pressed the wrong button? – as Dyche and his players were left dreaming about the possibility of a repeat of their emphatic 3-0 victory over reigning Premier League champions Liverpool on their previous visit to the city just a fortnight earlier.