Crystal Palace have grabbed their first clean sheet of the season after seeing out a goalless draw with Everton at Selhurst Park this afternoon.
Chances from Kagisho Dikgacoi, Marouane Chamakh and Jerome Thomas could have given the struggling Premier League outfit all three points, but they failed to convert when it mattered.
For Everton, they controlled the middle of the park and had plenty of possession, but the clinical touch was missing from their game in the final third.
Below, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes that unfolded in the league encounter.
Match statistics:
Crystal Palace:
Shots 9
On target 2
Possession 28%
Corners 4
Fouls 16
Everton:
Shots 15
On target 2
Possession 72%
Corners 7
Fouls 8
Was the result fair?
It was a fair result considering the overall performance of the sides, given that both Palace and Everton were lacking in certain areas of their game. Both teams failed to take their chances when it mattered in front of goal, but some sloppy passing from Palace gave the Toffees plenty of possession in the middle of the park. However, the home side put in a good shift in terms of defence, which stifled and frustrated the visitors.
Crystal Palace's performance
Credit has to go to the home side for the defensive effort they put into the fixture. While their attacking prowess was limited, they worked as a team to keep Everton away from goal, which resulted in their first clean sheet of the Premier League season. They did have three glorious opportunities to find the net themselves, but their final touch let them down.
Everton's performance
As expected, the Merseyside outfit controlled the midfield and had a overwhelming majority of possession. Despite creating some positive play, it just was not the visitors' day as they struggled to finish off their attacks. While Leighton Baines worked hard throughout the match, he seemed below par today, which summed up Everton's threat this afternoon.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Joel Ward: Not one player particularly shone during the encounter, but credit must be given to Palace's defenders. Ward made some important clearances during the match, one of which stopped Gerard Deulofeu from heading in a late goal for Everton. Ward was not the only one who took on defensive duties well - Damien Delaney and Dean Moxey also did a good job for the home side.
Biggest gaffe
This arguably could have gone to either of the three opportunities missed by Palace, but Dikgacoi's effort is going to take it. The Palace player created space for himself in the box and could not have received a better ball into the area. Instead of launching a header towards the back of the net, he hit it away from goal.
Referee performance
Craig Pawson had a positive performance throughout the entire match and only cautioned one player. He allowed play to go on and luckily for him, he had no controversial issues to deal with.
What next?
Crystal Palace: After the international break, the Eagles, who could have a new manager in the hotseat, will take on Hull City at the KC Stadium on November 23.
Everton: The Toffees will host the first Merseyside derby of the season against Liverpool at Goodison Park two weeks today.
Danielle Joynson
