Tottenham Hotspur are still searching for their first win of the new Premier League season having been held to a goalless draw by Everton this afternoon.
Spurs had a glorious chance to break the deadlock midway through the first half when Harry Kane was played through on goal, but he couldn't find a way past Tim Howard.
The Everton keeper was called upon to make a string of important stops throughout the match, including one to deny Ryan Mason from close range after the ball had fallen kindly to the Tottenham midfielder.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at whether the Toffees deserved to come away from White Hart Lane with a point.
Match statistics
TOTTENHAM
Shots: 20
On target: 6
Possession: 50%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 20
EVERTON
Shots: 8
On target: 3
Possession: 50%
Corners: 2
Fouls: 9
Was the result fair?
Despite the lack of goals, this was an entertaining and at times fiery affair between two sides with European ambitions this season. Spurs, though, will be wondering just how they haven't come away with their first win of the season. They were on top for long spells of the match and created enough chances to have emerged relatively comfortable winners, but they came up against a goalkeeper in inspired form. Howard made a number of important saves and, without him on top of his game, it would almost certainly have been a home victory today.
The match was more one-sided than the possession stats suggest, although Tottenham's tally of 20 shots is also a little misleading as a number of them came from range. Even so, the hosts always looked most like scoring, and Kane, Mason and Nacer Chadli were all guilty of missing golden opportunities. Arouna Kone came close with just under 20 minutes left for Everton but, aside from that, they rarely troubled Hugo Lloris in the Tottenham goal.
Tottenham's performance
Mauricio Pochettino won't be too happy with the result under the circumstances, but he can certainly take a lot of positives from his side's performance today. Spurs looked bright in both defence and attack, moving the ball quickly and keeping Everton on the back foot for long spells. The only thing missing for the hosts was that cutting edge in front of goal and, while they can point to a brilliant performance from Howard, their finishing also left a lot to be desired.
Kane's search for a first goal of the season goes on, and he was clearly desperate to get it considering how many long-range shots he had. He squandered the best chance of the match, although Mason was not far behind in those stakes. Son Heung-min has now arrived at the club, while they continue to be linked to Saido Berahino, and the lack of a killer instinct in the final third this afternoon may just persuade Daniel Levy to dig a little deeper into his pockets to land the West Bromwich Albion striker.
The big concern for Spurs now, though, is their lack of a victory this season. They could, perhaps should, be joint second in the table, but they have twice blown leads in the closing stages of matches and now failed to win when they really should have. These are the games that they should be winning if they are to make a serious bid for the top four, and the failure to do so will be a concern for Pochettino.
Everton's performance
This will go down as a good point for Everton, but they are indebted to Howard for it. They still haven't conceded away from home in the league this season, and Howard needed to be on top form to protect that record this afternoon. The American made fine saves to deny Kane, Chadli and Mason, amongst others, coming up with the answers to everything that Spurs threw at him. In front of him, the defence didn't play particularly badly, but they were undone by some good movement from Tottenham's attackers on a number of occasions.
Despite enjoying half of the possession, Everton lost the midfield battle today and that prevented them from ever truly establishing themselves as a force in the game. Romelu Lukaku was unable to impose himself up front and while the likes of Kone and Ross Barkley worked hard for the team, they very rarely seriously threatened Lloris's goal. The Toffees were hit by what looks like a serious injury to Tom Cleverley but, that aside, Martinez will be content with coming from this one with something to show for it.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Tim Howard: There is only one candidate for this award. Simply put, Howard won Everton this point and, without him, they could have been soundly beaten. His save to deny Mason early in the second half was the best of the lot, and this was the perfect way to respond to his mistakes against Manchester City last time out.
Biggest gaffe
This one has to go to Kane for squandering the best chance of the match in the first half. The England international was clean through on goal and, last season, would have tucked it away with his eyes closed. This time he took too long over it, however, before eventually being denied by Howard.
Referee performance
Michael Jones had a decent game in the middle this afternoon. The match threatened to boil over on one or two occasions, but he kept a lid on it and got his biggest call - denying Spurs a penalty - spot on.
What next?
Tottenham: Next up for Spurs is an away trip to face Sunderland after the international break.
Everton: Everton, meanwhile, host an out-of-sorts Chelsea on Saturday, September 12.
Barney Corkhill
