Thierno Barry ended his long wait for a first Everton goal as the Toffees beat Nottingham Forest to move up to fifth in the Premier League.

Barry, who joined in the summer from Villarreal, had gone 16 games without scoring before finally getting on the scoresheet for David Moyes' side with the second goal against Forest.

It came with his 19th shot and just his second on target in his Everton career.

Everton made a dream start to the game when a second-minute cross from the in-form Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall deflected off Nikola Milenkovic and into the back of the net.

But they had to wait until first-half stoppage time to add to their lead when Iliman Ndiaye led a quick counter-attack before feeding Barry, who rolled the ball beyond goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Nottingham Forest struggled to create many opportunities, although Nicolas Dominguez did have a prodded effort blocked on the line by James Tarkowski.

Dewsbury-Hall clipped the outside of the post with a powerful strike but would not be denied adding a late third when he drilled a strike into the bottom corner.

The win made for an unhappy return for ex-Everton manager Sean Dyche, who was sacked at the start of the year after a poor run of form left them in relegation trouble.

He was replaced by David Moyes for his second spell at the club and the former Manchester United manager has overseen a significant improvement that has Everton firmly in the mix for a top-10 finish.

Barry has had a difficult time at Everton following his summer move to England.

With fellow forward Beto also struggling for goals, the 23-year-old has been given plenty of chances to make the striker position his own and against Forest was making his 10th start for the club.

The statistics have not made pleasant reading for Barry, having managed just a solitary shot on target in his 16 previous appearances.

Despite that, he is a hugely popular player because of his other contributions to the team - working hard and winning plenty of headers.

But strikers are judged on goals and the longer the wait the more pressure that was on him - pressure that should now be eased with this goal.

It was a clinical finish by Barry, picking his spot well and calmly sending the ball beyond Sels.

He went off to a standing ovation in the second half and both he and the Everton fans will be hoping this is the start of a scoring run for the striker.

Dyche and Nottingham Forest are proving a good fit, with the ex-Everton boss having recorded five wins in his 10 games since replacing Ange Postecoglou.

But while results have improved they remain in relegation danger with West Ham - in the drop zone but just three points behind Forest - having a game in hand.

Forest made a dreadful start with a booking for Nicolo Savona after barely 30 seconds of play, and then conceding the opener just over a minute later.

Their defending left a lot to be desired and it was mistakes at the back that ultimately led to Everton's first two goals, but their attack was also not much better, with Morgan Gibbs-White struggling to make an impact.

But this was just a second defeat in Forest's past six games in all competitions, a loss they will hope to be able to chalk down as just a bad day at the office.

Everton travel to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday, 13 December (15:00 GMT).

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, switch focus to the Europa League as they play at Utrecht on Thursday, 11 December (17:45).