Everton failed to register a single attempt on target as they were held to a goalless draw by West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Toffees' wait for an away win now stretches more than three months, meaning that they missed out on a chance to truly put the pressure on the sides around them in the table.
Victory for Everton, who have now lost just one of their last 18 league meetings with United, would have lifted them above Arsenal and Manchester United into fifth place, but as it is they climb just one point above the Gunners after playing three games more.
There was a nervy moment for Adrian early on in his first league start since November, as he made a hash of an attempted clearance and was very nearly caught out by Romelu Lukaku.
That was essentially as close as the below-par visitors came to a breakthrough in the first half, failing to get their star man - who had netted in each of his previous nine against United prior to today - into the game and ended the half without a serious attempt of any note.
The quiet nature of Everton's attacks was largely down to the positive defensive work of James Collins, who constantly headed the ball away and also played a pivotal role at the opposite end, nodding the ball down towards Cheikhou Kouyate who could not quite hook it into the net.
Kouyate was responsible for the only on-target attempt of the opening 45 minutes, sending a deflected shot down the middle for Maarten Stekelenburg - himself restored to the side after four months away - to keep out with relative ease.
Collins also nodded wide from a decent position and Kouyate, the matchwinner here against Swansea City in the Hammers' last home league outing, miscued a shot wide from 25 yards out.
Everton boss Ronald Koeman made it clear what he thought of his side's first-half display, turning to Gareth Barry and Ademola Lookman at the break in place of Tom Davies and Idrissa Gueye.
The double change helped to temporarily spark the match into life, with both teams pushing forward in search of an opener, and it was United who nearly found it when Manuel Lanzini's bullet strike hit Phil Jagielka clean in the face right in front of goal.
While the entertainment value may have improved slightly, the quality in the attacking third certainly did not as neither side could muster a real clear-cut chance as the final 20 minutes approached.
Lanzini was allowed to drive forward and test Stekelenburg with another deflected shot in the best of West Ham's remaining openings, while at the other end Everton ended fairly strongly with a rally of corners.
One of the crosses into the box saw Ashley Williams denied a chance to head goalwards by compatriot Collins, who pulled back on his shirt but avoided any punishment from referee Roger East.
That proved to be it on an afternoon that saw both teams cancel each other out, with Everton stuck on just the two away wins in the last seven months.
Daniel Lewis
