Tottenham looked full of confidence from the off, applying plenty of early pressure, and they were inches away from going in front in the ninth minute when Kane’s low, drilled effort from outside the box came back off the inside of the post.
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“In the second half we were a bit more ourselves”.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino was in no doubt his side’s 1-1 draw at Everton represented two points dropped for the London outfit.
The pacy winger was a surprise inclusion by Martinez, in for only his fourth league start of the campaign.
That position does not perhaps reflect the talent Martinez has in his squad in the shape of England defenders John Stones and Leighton Baines, Ross Barkley in midfield and 18-goal top scorer Romelu Lukaku in attack.
Just two minutes later, Lennon brought the Goodison supporters to their feet once again as he ran at Ben Davies before supplying Arouna Kone, but the Ivorian attacker saw his shot blocked.
“I thought Ross Barkley was huge”, said the Spanish coach. We need to be careful.
Obviously Aaron’s Lennon’s goal was a big plus point – it always seems to happen that a former player comes back to haunt you.
“I can rest at the end of the season and enjoy time with my family”.
“He will be part of the team in the next few games, but I think maybe the FA Cup third round game (against Dagenham next Saturday) is a more realistic target”. But it was the timing of the changes that ultimately allowed Everton to regain a little more control and allowed the Toffees to keep progressing forward.
Martinez’s side have reached the last four of the competition for the first time since 2008 and the Everton manager is determined to end the trophy drought.
“Spurs were the better team”, Cascarino told Sky Sports.
Then, seven minutes into the second period he made an unbelievable shoulder pass to Kane which nearly gave Spurs the lead, though the striker was unable to test Howard on this occasion.
“It was just important for us to have the figure of a captain and that feeling of comfort in the dressing room”, Martinez said. Moments later Pochettino’s side struck Everton’s woodwork for the first time when Harry Kane beat Howard from distance only for his low drive to rebound clear off the inside of a post.
It was the same story in their last defeat, to Palace, when Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Bojan managed only two successful dribbles between them having managed 13 in their previous home game against Manchester City.
“We have been conceding goals cheaply at home and it’s something we had to rectify”. We defended really well.
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Asked whether Spurs should feel inferior to the Premier League’s elite, Walker said: “Not with how the season has gone for other teams and also because of how we’re playing”.
