Crystal Palace 0 Everton 0: Blues draw blank in south London

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 27: Wilfred Zara of Crystal Palace in action during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton FC at Selhurst Park on April 27, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 27: Wilfred Zara of Crystal Palace in action during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Everton FC at Selhurst Park on April 27, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Well that was not exactly an inspiring game was it? Everton failed to take their chances and were held to a frustrating draw at Crystal Palace yesterday.

The truth is that although Everton had the lions share of the chances and should have won the game, they didn’t really create a great deal of clear-cut opportunities.

It was not a classic given the lack of goals and will go down as another missed opportunity for the Toffees in the pursuit for seventh place and the dubious prize of possible Europa League football.

The Blues started with the same eleven that had so brilliantly taken Manchester United apart at Goodison Park on Easter Sunday.

But as has so often has proved to be the case this season, they couldn’t fully replicate that performance away from home and indeed despite an energetic start, they couldn’t find a way past a resilient Palace side.

When Everton did settle they took control of the game and began to dictate the pace and tempo of the match. Dominic Calvert-Lewin in particular had several decent chances, which once again he failed to take.

As well as those missed openings, Cenk Tosun was denied a spectacular back-heeled goal by a fine save and Bernard hit the woodwork too.

The home team didn’t really offer much threat themselves but it wasn’t to be and so the Blues had to settle for a solitary point.

Wins for Wolves over Watford yesterday and today’s victory by Leicester City against Arsenal, means that it’s becoming increasingly unlikely Everton will finish in seventh.

With just two Premier League games remaining there is a danger then that the Toffees season will just peter out. The team need to stay focussed and push as hard as possible for the maximum number of points possible.

These away results are so frustrating given what this side is capable of producing. Everton did in fact play well overall and created plenty of half-chances but were unable to replicate their outstanding home performances in front of goal.

The Blues have recently dropped a total of eight possible points from three of their last four away games at Newcastle United, Fulham and now Crystal Palace.

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Had Everton got at least six of those points they would be sitting in seventh place now.

One thing that is particularly irritating about this game is the fact the Blues only had three shots on target, far to low a percentage. This after having eight shots on target last weekend and converting half of them.

Being this inconsistent and wasteful in front of goal is poor and will certainly prevent the team from making real progress next season.

On the plus side another clean sheet underlines the continuing improvement in Everton’s defensive efforts. This was an area of real concern earlier in the season and seeing how much the Toffees have improved there is very pleasing.

So next up is Burnley at home and let’s see whether Everton’s players can up their game again against a Turf Moor side that seems to be re-discovering it’s defensive intransience.