Win on 'top six' turf proves elusive but Everton finish campaign in optimistic mood

For long periods of this game, it looked as though the team selection, influenced as it was by injuries to Seamus Coleman, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was exposing the lack of depth in quality in Marco Silva's squad.

It was somewhat ironic, then, that Theo Walcott and Cenk Tosun, two players who had done little in the preceding hour to advance their respective cases for retention by Everton next season, scored the two goals that could and probably should have resulted in the Blues' first win away at a top-six side in six years.

As if to compound that irony, it was a clumsy foul by one of the players the club and fans are desperate to keep, André Gomes, that handed Christian Eriksen the kind of dead-ball opportunity that he relishes and thereby deprived the visitors of three points.

Nevertheless, it was an intriguing game from Everton's perspective, one that perpetuated concerns over some of the team's weaknesses while also reinforcing the feeling that there is a growing resilience and spirit in the ranks that will stand them in great stead next season.

Silva had lined up his defence with a central defensive setup that felt like a sop to Yerry Mina given his injury problems this year and, perhaps, his hefty price tag. The change shunted Kurt Zouma to the right side where he performed ably enough but at times it was visibly at the cost of his normal pairing with Michael Keane that has been the rock on which a run of eight clean sheets in 10 games had been founded.

Prior to today, Everton had gone 11 games without conceding a first-half goal but it took less than two minutes for that run to end and in the context of the uncertainty over Zouma's future, Mina's role in it was somewhat disconcerting. The had been unable to prevent the ball going behind for a corner but he made a mess of the ensuing set-piece. Mina missed his connection with a header allowing the ball to drop to the feet of Eric Dier who lashed it home to notch his first goal of the season.

Given Tottenham's strength and the manner in which they would proceed to overrun Everton in midfield at times in the first half, gifting them a fourth-minute goal felt as though it had ensured another torrid afternoon against Mauricio Pochettino's men. Spurs trounced Everton under Sam Allardyce 4-0 at Wembley last season and came away with a 6-2 victory from Goodison Park earlier this season and as Keane gave the ball away in a dangerous area and Lucas Moura looked to capitalise, the feelings of deja vu began to set in.

Thankfully, the Brazilian blazed his effort narrowly over from 20 yards and though Everton generally lacked options moving the ball through midfield, they did manage to fashion a couple of openings of their own in the first 20 minutes

Everton took a while to get their act together in response. Overrun in midfield at times when they didn't have the ball, undermined by poor distribution by Jordan Pickford and struggling for options and movement when in possession themselves, they still had a good chance to level after 10 minutes when Gylfi Sigurdsson picked out Keane with a free-kick but the centre-half could only steer his header straight at Hugo Lloris. Then, after Bernard had cut a cross from the byline behind Tosun, the ball ran to Walcott where the former Gunner was able to get an effort on goal despite his legs giving way underneath him.

Silva's men began to grow into the contest as the half wore on, however, and when Bernard fired a shot through the legs of Kyle Walker-Peters on the half-hour mark, Lloris had to get down smartly to save at his right-hand post to keep it out.

Sigurdsson then tested the French ‘keeper with a dipping effort from the edge of the area and Keane despatched the downward header the wrong side of the post before Bernard picked Walcott out with an accurate cross but the winger took too long to pull the trigger and was dispossessed.

For 25 minutes after half-time, the match lapsed into more pedestrian end-of-season fare although it was Everton who should have scored with their best chance to that point when Tosun knocked the ball through into space in the Spurs box but Bernard, on the stretch, could only stab it wide.

Still, it was encouraging from Everton and they would get the goal that their increasing penetration deserved after Silva made a double change that somewhat surprisingly saw Gomes introduced for Idrissa Gueye and Ademola Lookman for Bernard.

It was Lookman who drove purposefully into space towards the Tottenham area and laid the ball off to Sigurdsson who in turn found Walcott. The winger took a touch and then fired a shot inside the far post to level the game and send the vocal Evertonians in the corner into rapture.

It would get better for the travelling Blues three minutes later just as word came through that Manchester City had increased both their lead at Brighton (to 3-1) and their grip on the Premier League trophy. Sigurdsson swung in a corner that was met by a towering header from Keane. Lloris parried his effort on the line, Lookman couldn't quite get enough on the ball to convert from close range but Tosun was on hand to force it over the line and put Everton 2-1 up with 18 minutes left.

Unfortunately, Spurs would score on their first attack following the restart. The home side worked the ball through a large hole in the Blues' back line that put Erik Lamela into a dangerous position but he was bundled over by Gomes a couple of yards outside the box, setting Eriksen up to rap home the equaliser. The Dane hammered the resulting free kick inches over the wall and into the far corner of the goal before the unsighted Pickford had a chance to properly react.

Had Everton been able to hold out a bit longer, they might well have gone on to win because Tottenham had caused them few problems in the second half. And it was the visitors who would go closest to claiming the three points in the closing stages when Lucas Digne's excellent chipped cross picked out Tosun but the Turk could only plant his header into Lloris's grateful arms.

So a point at Tottenham to end a season that began and ended in hugely encouraging fashion but which was ultimately undermined in critical fashion by a run of relegation form over the winter months. That, combined with the hope that there will be injection of more genuine quality over the summer, should fill Evertonians with plenty of optimism going into the 2019-20 season.

Question marks remain over the futures of Zouma and Gomes — as popular as the latter is, it's the potential loss of the former that is arguably the more concerning, particularly given Mina's suspect start to life in England — but there is clear evidence of a structure, a plan and a process about Silva's work at Goodison now that points the way to a more stable and competitive future for Everton.

Note: A criticism of Mina conceding a needless corner for Tottenham's first goal has been corrected above after further viewing of the replay.

Follow @EFCLyndon

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