Roberto Martinez: 'Tim Howard not to blame for draw'

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has leapt to the defence of goalkeeper Tim Howard after his performance in the Toffees' 2-2 draw with Leicester City this afternoon.

Howard looked far from comfortable in the encounter at Goodison Park and drew criticism for both of Leicester's goals that dented Everton's bid to build from an impressive Europa League win in midweek.

"I don't see Tim as directly responsible of the draw," said Martinez, according to the Liverpool Echo.

"The first one is quite an unlucky action. He gets in some sort of a block, it hits John Stones' legs and it ends up in the Leicester striker's footpath. We have three players around him and it ends up with him. I don't think it was such a major error.

"I don't think it would solve anything if we just single out the player who made that mistake. As a team we need to defend much better in those situations."

Everton currently find themselves in 12th position in the Premier League standings.