A selection of national media coverage of Everton's goalless draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night
Jordan Pickford races to block an effort from Savio (Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
Jordan Pickford races to block an effort from Savio (Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
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The boos were back - several national reporters noted. They were aimed at Tottenham Hotspur.
That was, in part, due to the way Everton survived an initial Spurs onslaught but, after the opening 20 minutes, the threat was handled with relative comfort by a defence led by the superb Jarrad Branthwaite.
Branthwaite was given plenty of credit across the reports filed from north London - and some were happy to acknowledge it was Everton who came closest to taking three points from this goalless draw.
Jonathan Northcroft, writing in the Times, was among those who noted the “boos were back”, though he stressed there remained obvious good will towards Roberto de Zerbi.
He did believe Everton were the better team though, stating: “Only in the 88th minute was Pickford properly threatened — from a low, well-placed Lucas Bergvall shot — and it was Everton who ended on the attack. They were the better side, with the better performers, like Vitaliy Mykolenko, James Garner, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and the mountainous, characterful Jarrad Branthwaite.
“Branthwaite’s appetite to block and head away shots, to make tackles and strongarm opponents away from danger, was immense and he is also comfortable on the ball. Thomas Tuchel names his next England squad on Friday and Branthwaite should be included.”
In the Guardian, David Hytner went as far as suggesting Everton should have won. He wrote: “Spurs were anxious, they lacked certainties – apart from the one about how they were never going to score. They were fortunate that Everton, who remain defiantly unbeaten, did not do so at the other end.
“David Moyes’s team had big chances in the second half through Thierno Barry, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and the former Spurs winger, Brennan Johnson. Everton defended superbly, albeit they were helped by Tottenham’s bluntness, and were full value for the draw. They probably deserved to win.”
Riath Al-Samarrai focused more on Spurs’ deficiencies as he considered how they failed to score, let alone win this match. After rolling through the changes de Zerbi was able to make, he wrote: “No doubt David Moyes would relish such freedoms of choice.”
Of the first half display, he said: “Backs pressed to the wall, they were at Tottenham's mercy and saved only by Jordan Pickford and a chronic lack of decisiveness from their hosts. [Jan] Van Hecke missed the first of the chances but that was nothing compared to one botched by [Mateus] Fernandes after Van Hecke split the defence with an excellent ball through the middle. There is no doubting the threat that lurks in those fast feet of Fernandes but too often he can kill a quick move with an extra touch. Or four.”
He ran his theme about poor Spurs finishing all the way to the end, when he said of ex-Tottenham player Johnson’s miss from the edge of the box late on: “...maybe this magnificent stadium leaves a lasting effect on those forwards who pass through it.”
On the BBC, Phil McNulty wrote: “Everton could have actually made matters worse, but they are also short of attacking threat themselves - luckily for Spurs.
“As the second half wore on, the resilient visitors actually missed the game's two best chances through Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Brennan Johnson, while the mood became increasingly sour as nerves and anxiety grew.”
In the ECHO, the focus was less on struggles - for either side - in front of goal and more on the immense display by Branthwaite: “As the cries from the home supporters turned from hope to desperation, Jarrad Branthwaite leapt highest in a crowded box and headed clear before being clattered. He knew the blow to his body was coming before his feet left the ground. But still he rose from the turf.
“It was a fitting moment to conclude the game. The centre-back ended the match how he started it, putting his body on the line. Huge blocks from Mateus Fernandes and Omar Marmoush were pivotal as Everton clung on as Tottenham Hotspur started with intensity, overloading the visiting full-backs and overwhelming their midfield.
“Marmoush, Fernandes, Dominic Solanke and Savio all wreaked early havoc. But they were unable to make their dominance count and score a first Premier League goal of the season for their team. The main reason for that was Branthwaite.
“No player has a greater impact on the potential of this Blues team than the 24-year-old, who has now started all four league games of the campaign.
No-one at Everton will take his fitness for granted and hopes that he will earn a return to the England squad this month will be tempered by fear of his workload being too excessive after a campaign lost to injury.
“But his potential is extraordinary and he made that clear once again. Over the course of this game Spurs threw more than £400m of attackers at the visiting defence. None had an answer for the £1m signing from Carlisle.”