Swansea City produced a sterling defensive performance to frustrate Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon, holding on to claim a 0-0 draw.
The likes of Nikica Jelavic, Marouane Fellaini and Leon Osman all had good chances to break the deadlock, but found themselves lacking a cutting edge in front of goal.
Swansea hit the bar themselves through Michu, but were second best throughout much of the match.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at a frustrating afternoon for Everton.
Match statistics:
Everton:
Shots 16
On target 8
Possession 53%
Corners 7
Fouls 13
Swansea:
Shots 4
On target 2
Possession 47%
Corners 4
Fouls 9
Was the result fair?
In short, no. Swansea defended admirably, and deserve praise for that, but Everton really should have won this match. They had enough chances to do so but just couldn't stick the ball in the back of the net. The match really shouldn't have ended 0-0 and David Moyes will be scratching his head asking himself how his side haven't won this one.
Everton's performance
Dominant, assured and impressive - until they found themselves in front of goal. The Toffees controlled the match, as the stats above show, and created the number of chances you would expect given the amount of possession they had, but they just couldn't finish them. Moyes will be very happy with the performance, but not the result.
Swansea's performance
Stubborn. You could say it was an almost-perfect away performance. Michael Laudrup's men were happy enough for Everton to control the ball until it came near the danger zone, and then their defence, all of whom had very good games, stepped in to clear the danger. There were times when they were beaten and should've been punished, but they rode their luck and held on for an impressive point.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Seamus Coleman: To be honest, this award could go to either of the Swansea centre-backs, Michel Vorm or Leighton Baines as well, but Coleman was a bright spark for Everton throughout. He and Baines give the Toffees a lovely balance, and he was positive from start to finish, creating a couple of really good chances.
Biggest gaffe
Fellaini's miss. Coleman had battled his way down the right and into the box before pulling the ball back to the Belgian inside the box. He had time to compose himself, but his shot was tame and dribbled straight at Vorm.
Referee performance
Phil Dowd put in a solid performance in the middle. He let the match flow early on, which was good for the game, and didn't make any glaring errors. He perhaps handed out a couple of soft yellow cards, but that's about the only criticism you could level at him this afternoon.
What next?
Everton: The Toffees travel to Southampton in a week's time before an FA Cup fourth round tie against either Bolton Wanderers or Sunderland.
Swansea: Swansea have a busy month ahead as they face Arsenal in an FA Cup replay before facing Stoke in the league. Then they host Chelsea in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final.
Barney Corkhill
