Leighton Baines scored late on from the penalty spot to salvage a 1-1 draw for Everton from their trip to Sunderland this afternoon.
The Black Cats took the lead through Sebastian Larsson after the restart, but Baines kept his cool with 14 minutes left to play to secure a share of the spoils for the away team.
Here, Sports Mole decides whether a draw was a fair result, or if either side can argue that they were worthy victors.
Match statistics
Sunderland
Shots: 10
On target: 3
Possession: 42%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 11
Everton
Shots: 16
On target: 7
Possession: 58%
Corners: 4
Fouls: 13
Was the result fair?
Even the most ardent of Sunderland supporters will not be able to deny that Everton were the more dominant of the two sides, but it's what the Toffees did with that pressure that truly counts. You'd have to say that over the 90 minutes, they did not call Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon into action too often. As for the home side, they certainly played their part in an entertaining contest and it would have been harsh had they came away from the encounter with nothing.
Sunderland's performance
It's well known that at one time or another this term, Sunderland have had problems at both ends of the pitch. However, today, the mistakes that have hampered them so badly were in short supply. They defended well as a unit and often restricted Everton to shots from distance.
Further up the pitch, there were signs of creativity, but too often the wrong decision was made - with Connor Wickham the main offender. On more than one occasion he would pick out the wrong pass or his cross was overhit. That's not to say that Sunderland didn't cause Everton some problems, because they did at times. All in all there was plenty of positives for Gus Poyet to take from this game, which is not something that can always be said about the Wearsiders.
Everton's performance
While they dominated possession during the first half, there was not enough urgency and intensity about their play, particularly in the final third. The likes of Ross Barkley, Romelu Lukaku and Aiden McGeady all looked laboured when in possession, while Baines and Seamus Coleman struggled to get forward from full-back.
That changed after the restart as Baines and Coleman started to run riot, which at times pegged Sunderland back into their own half. The penalty was won by Coleman and scored by Baines, which shows just how important those two are in an attacking sense. Yet, when Roberto Martinez reflects on this game overall, he will be disappointed at how rarely his team worked Pantilimon, despite their domination of the ball.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Anthony Reveillere: Signed to play as a right-back, the Frenchman was required to fill the void at left-back today and he did a very good job. He got forward to support his winger and the attackers well, while never neglecting his defensive responsibilities. Considering that the 34-year-old had been out of football for a number of months prior to his recent arrival on Wearside, to show such energy levels was highly impressive.
Biggest gaffe
Wickham did not cover himself in glory for the penalty, but he has been pipped to this dubious honour by the entire Everton wall. Let's take nothing away from Larsson's effort first of all, because it had plenty of pace and bend on it, but the Swede was helped by those that were meant to be there to make his life difficult. As he struck the ball, the wall inexplicably split, which left Tim Howard behind them incredulous.
Referee performance
There was one big call for Lee Mason to make and to be fair to him, he got it right. The replays showed that Wickham did get a touch on the ball, but not before he had gone through Coleman. Awarding the penalty was the correct decision, despite the jeers from the stands. Aside from that, it was a largely quiet game in terms of fouls for Mason to deal with.
What next?
Sunderland: After the upcoming international break, Sunderland will be on the road with a trip to Leicester City.
Everton: As for the Toffees, they will play host to an in-form West Ham United side at Goodison Park.
Liam Apicella
