Sunday 3 January 2016 20:00, UK
Roberto Martinez hailed Everton's improved defensive display as they held Tottenham to an entertaining 1-1 draw on Super Sunday.
The Toffees welcomed Spurs to Goodison Park looking to overcame a poor defensive record which had seen them concede 12 goals in their previous six Premier League outings.
And they did well to withstand a first-half barrage from the visitors, keeping them at bay to take the lead through former Spurs winger Aaron Lennon, only for Dele Alli to level just before the interval.
"It's not the result it's the performance," Martinez told Sky Sports. "We have been a little bit lightweight in the way that we have defended our box and today was an incredible change.
"The way we defended was a really good platform for the performance. Spurs did have a lot of possession but we knew how to create clear-cut opportunities.
"They had a lot of the ball but they never found their real key players - [Christian] Eriksen, [Erik] Lamela, Harry Kane didn't really have any good play. That was down to our defensive organisation.
"Overall the performance, particularly from a defensive point of view - which has cost us a lot of points in the last few games - was terrific."
Having come under pressure by an impressive Spurs outfit in large spells of the first half on Merseyside, a number of tactical substitutions - some of which received a mixed response from the Everton faithful - saw the game swing in the hosts' favour after the interval.
"We had different options and variations in the second half, we changed the shape a little bit," Martinez added. "We brought in different personnel and that gave us a real lift.
"Spurs had a lot of the ball in the first half but that probably played into our hands a little bit, we stopped the real threat and it was disappointing to concede that late in the game from such a direct ball.
"The way we grew into the second half and the way we used the squad was very pleasing. It was a terrific game of football, the intensity, the tempo, the quality.
"What we saw was two very good teams, two footballing teams that want to score goals and know how to use the ball well.
"I just feel with a little more focus on that final pass we could have taken advantage of a few opportunities that we had in the second half."
