James Garner returned to the City Ground to torment his former club, scoring one goal and creating another as Everton beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in a contest that the hosts controlled for long spells but never truly mastered in the penalty area.
Forest enjoyed close to 70% of the ball, attempted 52 crosses and completed almost three times as many passes as Everton, yet it was David Moyes' depleted side who were ruthless when their moments came. Garner struck on 19 minutes from Dwight McNeil's pass before laying on Thierno Barry's late second, punishing a Forest team short on cutting edge and leaving them to face a third straight Premier League defeat and a chorus of boos at full time.
For Forest and Sean Dyche, this was a sobering reminder that they remain in a relegation scrap, four points above West Ham and with a gruelling run of away fixtures to come. For Everton, it was a fifth win in their last nine league games, lifting them to eighth, within four points of the top four and two points of Chelsea in fifth, and strengthening the growing murmur that a challenge for European football need not be fanciful.
Garner returns to the City Ground and strikes first