Everton 2 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur

Half-time: 1 - 2

A tough match with a number of Spurs players returning form injury, including Darren Anderton although, thankfully, Les Ferdinand was out injured.

Richard Gough failed to overcome his ankle injury; Xavier is still suffering from a viral infection and Cleland is definitely out injured, so Walter Smith worryingly gave the aging Watson another start.

Everton piled on the earlier pressure with some great attacking football. They where all over Spurs and, as usual, started the scoring, with a wonderful goal form Campbell after good build-up, and an excellent cross form Hutchison. But that just fired up Spurs who went up the other end, got an undeserved free-kick and scored within 40 seconds.

This was followed by another after 5 mins – a Ginola cross from out wide was wickedly deflected by Watson's challenge and it looped painfully over Gerrard. Deflated, Everton went in 1-2 at half-time.

Everton huffed and puffed for most of the match but just could not get the goals they needed... that was until a long throw from Pembridge caused havoc in the Spurs area, the ball coming off Campbell to Joe-Max Moore. Quick reactions by the Yank inside the six-yard box saw him lash home his first goal for Everton into the roof of the net in the dying seconds to preserve that vital unbeaten record!!!

The nineties seems to have been a reflection of that bygone era. So often we've failed to pick up the points, merited or not. Maybe a change in fortune against another club living on past reputation, was due.

For ten minutes or so it appeared that we had finally got over our New Year celebrations and had cast aside the horrors of the displays against Birmingham and Leicester. Fluent play saw early opportunities spurned by Jeffers, with both head and foot, as he sought to impress visiting England manager, Kevin Keegan. Spurs seemed to have little to offer – slow in midfield, sloppy at the back. It was surely a case of when, rather than if, we would score.

Then came the pitch invasion. A dog (Staffordshire Bull Terrier?) raced onto the field of play, from the Park End/Goodison Road entrance. While it danced and pranced around the pitch, stewards strolled on to try and catch it unaware. They failed miserably. It took a couple of minutes of the dog heading towards the Spurs goal, just failing to cross the line, "spurred" on by the cheers of the crowd for the Stewards to finally entice it behind the barriers at the Park End (having just gone wide of Walkers right hand post) and its summary dismissal from the ground.

The game sprang back into lethargy. Spurs strolled around, we seemed to have lost any enthusiasm we had. It was poor fayre, after the earlier feast. Then the dog returned, a cry of "it's 'ere, it's 'ere" over the public address system. It's performance this time was much as the game had become, less enthusiastic. It succumbed easily to the stewards and was marched down the tunnel, perhaps for an early bath.

The game restarted in much the same downbeat manner, but Spurs seemed to have found a bit of a will to compete as they pressed forward with a little more menace. The Everton defence, however, coped admirably and from one clearance a Barmby knock-on was flicked into space by Jeffers to Hutchison. He raced down the right wing, Sol Campbell in tow, and delivered a perfect cross to the advancing Kevin Campbell, who flicked the ball coolly past Ian Walker and into the Spurs net. A momentary silence as we awaited the referee's decision. From my vantage point at the opposite end of the ground I was unsure of the relative positions of Perry and Campbell (Sol) in relation to Campbell (Kev) so I couldn't tell if there might have been an offside, but a blast on the whistle and the goal stood. 1 - 0.

We were still celebrating when Spurs took the ball forward into the Everton half. We looked on in disbelief as the referee granted Spurs a free kick just outside the box. A cross from Sherwood into the box, Campbell (S) all over Watson nodded against the post, possibly aided by a hand from Gerrard, but the ball dropped for Armstrong who prodded it into the net. Again the momentary silence as we expected the referee to blow up for the Campbell (S) misdemeanour, but he didn't and it was 1 - 1. Four minutes later and stunned silence gripped Goodison. Ginola, going nowhere, tried a speculative cross into the box, it clipped of Watson's foot and looped over a stranded Gerrard and dropped slowly into the net. Spurs were leading. 1 - 2.

The first half drifted on, we didn't look like scoring again and neither did they. Barmby pressed and harried, Hutchison tried too. But they were overwhelmed by the Spurs midfield as Collins and Pembridge disappeared into obscurity. Barmby's endeavour resulted in a booking for a nothing contact on a Spurs defender – half time was a blessing when it arrived.

The second half was a competitive affair. Spurs particularly became a bit more abrasive as the half wore on. They fell over at gentle contact and got away with murder. Watson's booking was probably justified, but the booking for Hutchison early in the first half was nothing short of a joke when compared to what was allowed to pass unpunished. Having made contact from behind, after clearing the ball away, Don saw yellow.

Sol Campbell, on the other hand was central to what might to even an unjaundiced eye, looked like blatant favouritism. A ball out from the Everton defence found our Kev in the centre circle, back to the Spurs defence. He brought the ball down and was bundled over by a sliding tackle right through from behind by Campbell (S). The referee came into the centre circle as the ball broke down the Spurs right. As he went to blow up, a quick glance over his shoulder saw Spurs bearing down on goal. He turned about, withdrew the whistle from his mouth and completely ignored the incident. At that point hopes of an equaliser died.

Five minutes from time the substitutes were called. Ball could be seen taking off his tracksuit, relief went around the ground at the thought of Pembridge's imminent departure. No such luck. Unsworth, who had burst his lungs tracking up and down the field, was withdrawn. Ball settled in at left back. Jeffers had also been withdrawn, boos accompanying the decision, with Joe-Max Moore taking his place. Two gaffs? Walter had the last laugh. A long throw from the reprieved Pembridge, nodded on by Kev and Joe-Max nipped in to tie the scores. 2 - 2 and the unbeaten home run was still intact.

The final whistle brought cheers for the Blues and jeers for the men in black. Nothing new there then. After that panto of a refereeing performance, it was off to see another, with Brian Blessed the villain Capt. Hook in Peter Pan. Excellent performance. At least you know were you are with panto villains, a light hearted "boooo" a lingering "hissss". All good fun and nobody suffers. Can't say that you can say the same for the villains in the middle at Premier League matches these days.

Man of the Match: One of three here, with Richard Dunne just edging it from Barmby and Weir.

The team is pretty settled these days, not because they're playing particularly well, it's more a question of no-one being available who would make things any better. The only change this week was the enforced absence of Richard Gough, Dave Watson deputising for his fellow old-timer. This gave us Gerrard in goal, Dunne, Unsworth, Weir and Watson in defence, Barmby, Hutchison, Collins and Pembridge across the middle and Campbell and Jeffers up front. The bench was Simonsen, Ball, Gemmill, Ward and Moore.

We started off very brightly and positively without really getting anything for it. Naturally the main Tottenham threat was going to be Ginola. The plan seemed to be to crowd him out; every time he got the ball, Barmby and Hutchison were very quick to get over in support of Dunne. It worked pretty well even if every time Ginola felt any kind of physical presence he fell to the deck; worryingly the referee bought it every time, and gave worrying portents of the stop-start nature he was going to inflict on the game.

Within the first twenty minutes no-one got a serious sight of goal. Then we managed to construct a wonderful movement down the right. Jeffers and Hutchison were involved and it ended with Hutchison getting in a cross from an advanced position which Campbell converted with his head from somewhere near the penalty spot. A well worked goal and 1-0 to the Blues.

Like against Leicester we should have used this as a building block to go on and take control of the game. We failed to do so, getting hit by the sucker punch of conceding a goal almost direct from the re-start. The referee gave a very harsh free kick just outside the left corner of our box, Hutchison clearly won the ball but someone suggested the ref gave it against Collins who had been trying to get in on the act, whichever way it was it was wrong. They swung the ball over and Sol Campbell, who seemed to be climbing all over Dave Watson, won the ball beyond the far post. The ball came back off the post (Gerrard's hand may have been involved as well) and then fell for Armstrong who had a simple tap in. Defensively it was a bad goal to concede, but it was also hard to bear as it could have been ruled out on two grounds – a free kick that should never have been and a foul by Campbell.

I hoped for a reaction from Everton, alas it didn't come. Before long we were two behind. Ginola popped up on the right... he wasn't picked up and he was played into the box. Dave Watson was covering the run and a younger Dave Watson would have dealt with it, as it was Ginola played in a cross, it hit Watson's shin and looped up over Gerrard and into the far corner. A complete fluke.

This was where the wheels started to fall off. With the confidence of the two goals, Tottenham really came at us. We were losing the midfield battle and we were being pulled all over the place by the mobility and interchanging of the likes of Ginola, Armstrong and Anderton. It was painful to watch and I was convinced we were going to concede another. In fact they only created one clear cut chance and that was kept out by some very smart goalkeeping from Gerrard, but the whole balance of the game had tipped decisively in their favour.

By half time we were on the ropes and the whistle came as a blessed relief. Walter had some work to do, first to stem the tide and prevent a Tottenham landslide, and then to get us going forward to find an equaliser from somewhere.

I half expected a substitution at half time, that didn't come so it was same as you where. Our start was very encouraging. It was our kick off and we launched an attack straight away. Again it was down our right and it ended with Hutchison being put through on the 'keeper. It was a tight angle and he failed to find the target when maybe he should have done better.

The initial optimism that chance brought was fairly short-lived. We were now faced with our perennial problem of how do we break down a massed defence. A side as limited as Exeter had shown our limitations in this department, how on earth were we going to breakdown a George Graham side marshalled by the likes of Sol Campbell and Tim Sherwood?

The answer was it didn't look like we could. There was no doubting the effort or application, what was missing the guile. Our only hope was some sort of dead-ball situation or some sort of link between Barmby, Hutchison and Jeffers. Unfortunately nothing seemed to be working. Yes we had stemmed the Tottenham tide and their threat now became fairly fitful but we didn't look like we could go on and get a goal ourselves.

It's at times like this that all our faults are laid out for us. A lack of pace throughout, a lack of any kind of width and a lack of real midfield invention. Barmby was doing his best down the right but couldn't really make things happen all on his own, Campbell wasn't getting any decent service, Jeffers was getting muscled out of the game by the physical presence of Campbell and Perry, and Pembridge was woefully ineffective.

Somewhere in the midst of all this Walter did make some tactical changes, most notably putting Hutchison up front, putting Pembridge in the centre of midfield and asking Jeffers to play wide left. I guess it was to try and find Jeffers some space to play in, the centre of the field had become very congested and Jeffers wasn't getting anywhere.

As the game wore on, our first home defeat looked more and more likely. With seven minutes to go, Walter made a double change bringing on Moore and Ball, and taking off Unsworth and Jeffers. To me it was a strange one. If you're looking for a goal it seems strange to take off one of your best strikers, and Unsworth, with his heart and his bottle would always keep striving to the very death. It was also very strange that Pembridge was left on the pitch, why not have played Ball and Unsworth down the left?

Ninety minutes was reached and we were told that there was four minutes to be added, which was quite right as there had been a couple of injuries and Tottenham had been time-wasting throughout the half. Still we came forward but still we looked unlikely to score. Then, with two minutes remaining Pembridge launched in a long throw from the right, an almighty scramble ensued before it dropped for Joe-Max Moore who, at full stretch and from about two yards, hoofed it into the net. We'd got ourselves out of jail again.

It's now looking more and more like the Sunderland result was a bit of an aberration. Yes if everyone clicks we can play very well but frankly that isn't going to happen very often. The rest of the time we look pretty ordinary, lacking width and guile and we will always struggle to break down organised defences, it took penalties against Leicester and Birmingham and it took a scrambled effort today.

There is a commendable resolution in the team – we never gave up today – and Walter deserves credit for that. But we must not forget that really we aren't all that good, and any higher than ninth in the league would flatter us unduly. Personally, at the moment that doesn't worry me too much – most tipped us for relegation this year and we've proved to be much better than that. What we need now is investment in players to take us further.

Player Ratings

• Gerrard 6 No chance with the goals but there was more evidence today of his uncertainty with long balls played into his box. Many are calling for him to be dropped, I still don't think that it has come to that yet.
• Dunne 7 Did well. Never exposed by Ginola, defended well and got forward well.
• Unsworth 7 Didn't do too much wrong, defended well and I thought he was unfortunate to be hauled off.
• Watson 6 Just about got away with it today but the guy must be allowed to retire.
• Weir 7 Another good performance from a very consistent performer.
• Barmby 6 Did what he could but can get rather crowded out on days like these.
• Hutchison 6 Always looking for the killer pass and always thinking but too often today was either let down by his own poor execution or his colleagues lack of awareness.
• Collins 5 Very disappointed in him today. I don't doubt he does a lot of good work closing down people and cutting off space but we need more than that from him. Overshadowed by Sherwood today.
• Pembridge 5 Another poor performer. He's nothing more than a bit and pieces player who should be no more than a squad player.
• Jeffers 6 Was quite bright today when given the chance which wasn't too often.
• Campbell 6 Smartly taken goal and did Ok but was starved of decent service.
• Ball 6 Did nothing wrong.
• Moore 6 What can you say? He saved our bacon today.

Team 6 Another poor team performance. Occasionally ropey in defence, occasionally overrun in midfield and couldn't deliver decent service up front. Still give them credit for not hiding and continuing to look for the equaliser.

Man of the match Difficult one today but Richard Dunne was the one who caught my eye the most today.

Apart from anything else, another reason for his absence is the factor that Ball has simply not played all that well when he has been included – he was dire at Arsenal, for instance. Walter actually said that he believed the dip in form came from being over-played last season. It may be that Ball has seen sense and is now back in the fold.

I watched Kevin Campbell closely throughout the match, as I do whenever I get the chance. My conclusion is that he is careful about not getting injured unnecessarily but that he is always there when needed. He does not lose the ball often and invariably keeps possession and then gets it to a blue shirt. His contribution in terms of overall play and goals is superior to that of Duncan Ferguson who, so often, trudged around looking pissed off or else nicely cushioning balls down to the opposition back four.

Pursuing my hobby of trying to see players in terms of what Walter might see in them, I noted that Mark Pembridge was doing a lot of very effective harrying in midfield.

It is rare that I would dispute anything in a match report by Richard Marland but I thought that this week he was a bit pessimistic. We started very well and then had our rhythm disrupted by Eddie Cavanagh's canine ghost. The referee, as Steve Bickerton noted, was appallingly biased. Both goals came from nothing free-kicks. Even so, the first should have been disallowed for Sol Campbell's foul and the second was about as jammy as it is possible to get. Throughout the second half, we put on as spirited an effort to get back as I have seen.

Although it is somewhat worrying to have so many home draws, this one was a game that genuinely showed the improvement since Walter Smith arrived. Also, scoring an equaliser in the last minute has the same psychological (if not the points) impact as winning just as (remember against Chelsea) conceding an equaliser in the last minute has the same psychological impact as losing.

Regarding the debate on bringing on the youngsters, I think Colm Kavanagh is being naïve. As someone pointed out, Dunne and Jeffers (and Ball until recently) show that Walter Smith will give people a chance if he thinks they are ready. Although, like lots of managers, he prefers tough, hardened, experienced professionals, he is also very good about the welfare of young players. Unfortunately, there is little sign that there are youngsters there to come through – Peter Degn, maybe and there are still hopes for Matt McKay.

Two sides on the fringe of the qualifying contest for European football were roused from their slumber to produce a riveting duel.

Tottenham, who went behind to Kevin Campbell's 10th goal of the season, recovered to equalise through Chris Armstrong and then take the lead in freakish circumstances, David Ginola claiming the credit at the expense of the unlucky Dave Watson.

Everton could not, however, dispute the quality and cohesion of Spurs' football. Recovering from an uncertain start, they played with poise and purpose, the accuracy of their passing subduing Walter Smith's team.

Even though Everton are undefeated at home this season, Smith, writing in the programme, expressed concern at the apparent frustration among supporters despite the 5-0 destruction of Sunderland.

Yesterday he was without veteran central defender Richard Gough, so he entrusted the job to another veteran, Watson. Richard Dunne passed a fitness test to take his place at right-back.

Spurs, so often vulnerable away from home, were still without a posse of experienced players but had on the bench Willem Korsten, the Dutchman signed in the summer but still to effectively launch his career with the club because of a foot injury which required surgery.

Everton's followers might have had a goal to drool over after only a minute. Sol Campbell allowed himself to be drawn out of the middle, Dunne delivered a centre and the unattended Francis Jeffers headed wide.

As Spurs endeavoured to organise themselves, they were fortunate again when Don Hutchison drilled the ball low across the goal-mouth but no one managed to apply a touch.

The appearance of a dog on the pitch brought light relief for Spurs and Jeffers' mis-control of the ball, when play resumed, was equally consoling for George Graham's side.

Spurs at last summoned a semblance of retaliatory action, without exercising Paul Gerrard in the Everton goal. Ian Walker, too, was untroubled, even when John Collins burst through to shoot, the ball drifting beyond the right-hand post.

Everton's next serious attack, after 23 minutes, proved more damaging. Jeffers cleverly released Hutchison on the right and the Scotland international whipped in a cross for Campbell to head past Walker.

Spurs were behind for barely a minute. Tim Sherwood tossed a free-kick into the area, and although Gerrard and a post kept out Sol Campbell's header, Armstrong forced the ball over the line.

Suddenly Spurs were reinvigorated and, after 29 minutes, went ahead, albeit inadvertently. Ginola, moving in from the right, struck the ball against Watson's foot and then watched in joyous disbelief as it looped up and over the helpless Gerrard into the far corner of the Everton net.

Gerrard denied Spurs a third just before half-time, saving from Steffen Iversen.

Barmby and Campbell gave Spurs a couple of scares and the Londoners withdrew Ginola, intent on protecting what they had, but Moore, a late substitute, claimed the equaliser two minutes into stoppage time.

There is a mood of optimism at Goodison these days. After spending most of the nineties fighting relegation, there's now a positive feel about Everton that bodes well for the future. They've even nudged into the top 10 recently, almost unknown heights for younger Blues fans.

Of course, altitude can cause a certain dizziness, especially when combined with youth, and Everton's furious start, while entertaining, lacked a grounding without the experience of father-figure Richard Gough. The home side fashioned three chances in the opening minutes of the game, the first coming courtesy of their exciting youngsters. Ebullient young defender Richard Dunne found Francis Jeffers looking lively but the teenage striker, seeking to find his best form since his New Year's Eve spell in Liverpool's police cells, headed the ball over.

Within a minute, Don Hutchison found space on the right, moving to the byline before delivering a tantalising cross which trickled across the area, but just out of reach of the advancing blue-shirted strikers.

Tottenham were reeling, but George Graham's side are developing, too – a solidity that reflects their manager's personality. They hung on as David Unsworth rattled in a long-range shot from 20 yards out which drifted over the bar. It was a fraught 10 minutes and the visitors were grateful for a breather, which arrived when a dog appeared on the pitch.

It was not an apparition from Goodison's Mike Walker past, but a canine stray, which had to be snared and led away.

Initially, the pause in play seemed to suit Everton. In the 22nd minute they made a breakthrough. Jeffers combined with Hutchison in midfield and the Scottish international broke away to the right of the Tottenham goal. His inch-perfect cross was met five yards out by Kevin Campbell's head and the big forward blasted home.

The backslapping was still in progress when Spurs hit back. Tim Sherwood won a free kick just a minute after Campbell's goal and his right-footed cross confused the Everton defence. Paul Gerrard was on to the ball first but could only palm it on to the post and Chris Armstrong, lurking with intent, fired the ball over the line.

Worse was to come for Walter Smith's team four minutes later. David Ginola found himself unmarked a mere ten yards out of the Everton penalty box. His speculative shot was lucky in that it found the only Everton defender in sight and took a wicked deflection that looped and squirmed under [Uh? Blind Reporter Syndrome; that should read "over"– Ed.] Gerrard.

Tottenham were now firmly in control and Everton's attempts to pull level were frequently let down by a poor final ball as they struggled to re-assert themselves.

Tottenham were unlucky not to greet the half-time whistle 3-1 up when Steffen Iversen, needing only to beat Gerrard, dwelt too long and allowed the keeper to collect the from his feet.

With no sign of the Blues coming back into the game, Smith gambled on his American import with nine minutes left, replacing Goodison's golden boy Jeffers to a chorus of catcalls from the terraces. The trick worked. With their first home defeat looming, Moore popped up in stoppage time to snatch back a point which seemed lost.

Smith joked: "That was a brilliant substitution," before adding: "I'm using Moore as a late substitute at the moment because he has had so little match practice.

"The US season finished weeks ago and he has missed so many matches. Even since he's arrived here there has been little chance for him to play reserve games to build up any match fitness.

"When we signed him the US officials agreed to leave him out of the Gold Cup tournament coming up soon so that he could start his new career with us. They will take him for summer internationals, but he is getting to grips with the English game and he'll certainly remember his first goal in England." A disappointed Spurs boss George Graham said: "We started sluggishly, but we showed tremendous character to defend like that after getting ourselves in front.

"The lads are very low and upset in the dressing room to lose points again in the last few minutes. It was very late when Chelsea scored to beat us in midweek, and now we lose an equaliser in injury time.

"Everton put us under a lot of pressure, but we handled it all very well until that one last long throw. It wasn't a fair reflection on how we played." And Graham was equally upset with referee Alan Wiley's seven second-half bookings. He said: "I didn't think the game deserved so many cautions. It was a very competitive game but any physical contact was punished. It would be sad if if it became a non-contact sport without any passion."

Briefly ahead then pegged back by a two-goal riposte, Everton were held at bay until the 92nd minute when Moore, introduced 10 minutes earlier, lashed in the equaliser.

Everton, defending an unbeaten record at Goodison Park stretching back to last April, started strongly, fashioning three chances of varying degrees of difficulty before Spurs had even begun to settle to their task. Francis Jeffers' header from a Richard Dunne cross after only a minute flashed just wide; then Don Hutchison pulled the ball across a temptingly open goalmouth for Kevin Campbell and Nicky Barmby, but both failed to apply the telling touch; and David Unsworth fired a shot over the bar after a neat build-up, again involving Jeffers.

When Chris Perry used his hand to intercept another Jeffers flick, the Spurs defence had a harried look that the arrival of a stray dog on the pitch did little to reduce. After a brief second appearance by the dog it, like the match, quietened down for a short time, with Everton no longer straining at the leash in quite the same way and Spurs gradually registering their presence.

That impression disintegrated midway through the first half when a break of rare pace and precision brought Everton the opening goal. Jeffers began it with a deft flicked header into the path of Hutchison, who hared down the right wing and whipped across an early ball, met with a spectacular diving [Er.. glancing, not diving – Ed.] header by Kevin Campbell for his 10th goal of the season.

It was a lead that lasted little more than a minute. Tim Sherwood's deep free-kick found the head of Sol Campbell, and although a combination of the woodwork and Paul Gerrard kept it out of the top corner of the net, Chris Armstrong was there to poke home the rebound.

Worse was soon to come for Everton. Just before the half-hour David Ginola, previously a peripheral figure, wandered over to the right to take a pass from Darren Anderton and tried a speculative shot that took a horrible deflection off Dave Watson to loop over Gerrard and inside the far post.

Everton's insecurity was heightened by a mix-up between Gerrard and David Weir which could have led to further damage. Before half-time, Gerrard, increasingly the busier of the goalkeepers, had to save at the feet of Steffen Iversen to keep Everton in touch.

Everton embarked on the second half with some of the urgency with which they had started the first, but the best they could manage by way of an assault on the Spurs goal was a shot into the side-netting by Dunne, and an inviting Barmby cross that failed to find a friendly foot to put it into the net.

Too many of Everton's attempts to salvage an equaliser ended with hopeful high balls pumped into the box, all of them picked off with ease by Ian Walker. Spurs almost extended their advantage when Sherwood's quick free-kick picked out Iversen ghosting in on goal, but his header was scooped up by Gerrard to leave Everton with a chance of rescuing the game.

Then, in the second minute of the four added on by the referee, a scramble in the six-yard box as Spurs failed to clear their lines saw Moore fire the ball into the roof of the net for his first Everton goal. However long he stays at Goodison, he is unlikely to score a more dramatic one.

The words might also have been a reference to his period in charge of Arsenal, the template from which he continues to cut his plans. At present, each area of his team is a fraction short of the required standard. Just when victory appeared to have been achieved, the defence could not deal with a long throw-in by Mark Pembridge and Joe-Max Moore, the American who was introduced as a substitute, forced in his first goal for Everton.

In midfield, the jubilant passing of the first half could not be sustained, particularly after David Ginola had been removed. The scene is so established that it amounts to a piece of modern pageantry. Ginola's number is held up, the Tottenham supporters boo and the manager looks adamant. On this occasion, Graham was correct. If footballers were equipped with a fuel gauge, Ginola's warning light would have begun flashing soon after the interval.

Once he is gone, however, Tottenham are diligently ordinary. Perhaps the side will be able to tap Darren Anderton for vivacity, but this is an early phase in his recovery and the sight of him completing consecutive matches will have to be treated as thrill enough. Graham's need for at least one top-class forward remains, of course, a fundamental truth of the FA Carling Premiership.

Assuming there are no fortunes to spend, he will have to repeat the sort of perspicacity that once brought a player of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's calibre to Leeds United for less than £2 million. At Goodison, thrift is a matter of necessity rather than virtuosity and Walter Smith has become its reluctant master.

There is not enough distinction in the ranks for Everton to create the type of patterned play with which Tottenham assumed control in the first half. After the bouts of relegation terror in recent years, no one in the ground expects that and, for the time being, there is sufficient satisfaction in perseverance and surprising spurts of skill.

Everton prefer to strike on the break and it was a sudden, incisive flurry that gave them the lead in the 22nd minute, when a lay-off by Francis Jeffers launched Don Hutchison on the run that ended with a meticulous cross on to the forehead of Kevin Campbell.

In the excitement, fortitude and concentration deserted the team for a while. Tottenham were level two minutes later. From a short free kick, Tim Sherwood picked out Sol Campbell and his header against a post rebounded for Chris Armstrong to finish.

In the 29th minute, Ginola's attempt from the right broke off Dave Watson and looped into the net. Just before the interval, Tottenham should have polished off their afternoon's work, but Paul Gerrard parried after Sherwood had put Steffen Iversen clear. Thereafter, Everton, with David Weir trenchant in central defence, denied the visiting team any further opportunities, stretching Tottenham's nerves in the second half.

Smith's team can be proud of their spirit. Graham's side is still short of substance.

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