Everton held by Spurs

Kevin Campbell was a threat to the Spurs defence

Everton 0-0 Spurs

Everton's barren Premier League sequence continued as they were held to a goalless draw by Spurs at Goodison Park.

Boss Walter Smith has come under pressure after Everton lost five out of their last six league games to plunge into the danger zone.

And he will have been disappointed again after watching Everton exert almost total domination - and yet fail to come away with the win.

We didn't get the rub of the green, but I feel we have to look at this as two points lost

  Everton manager Walter Smith

Spurs counterpart George Graham can hardly have been wildly impressed with his own team's drab efforts, but he will just be grateful for a share of the spoils and only their third away point this season with an injury hit team.

Everton came closest in the second half when striker Kevin Campbell struck a post, but in the end the stalemate was almost predictable.

Alexandersson was a danger

Smith's hopes of pairing Kevin Campbell and Duncan Ferguson up front were dashed again when the Scot was ruled out with a broken hand, sustained foiling an attempted burglary at his home.

But Spurs had problems of their own, stripped of captain Sol Campbell and Les Ferdinand through injury.

And Everton suffered a further blow after seven minutes when captain David Weir limped off after appearing to pull a calf muscle, and he was replaced by Alec Cleland.

The first half was short on real quality, but all the major threats came from Everton as they attempted to ease away from the Premiership relegation zone.

Dane Thomas Gravesen was an influential figure, bringing a fine save out of Spurs keeper Sullivan from long range.

We were down to our last few players and just came here to get a result, which we did

  Spurs manager George Graham

Niclas Alexandersson should have given Everton the lead after 33 minutes when he made space cutting in from the right flank, but he shot weakly from eight yards and Sullivan saved comfortably.

Spurs were offering little or no attacking threat, and Sullivan rescued them again on the stroke of half time, diving to his left to save brilliantly from Campbell's header as he got on the end of a Gravesen cross.

Campbell was the central figure again when Spurs had a remarkable double escape after 51 minutes.

He struck a post from the edge of the six-yard area after Mark Pembridge battled his way through, and then followed up by heading Alexandersson's cross wide.

Anderton was kept at bay

Spurs were hanging on by a thread, but for Everton there was always the ever-present worry that they were failing to turn possession and territory into goals.

Boss Graham attempted to give Spurs fresh attacking impetus after 62 minutes, replacing the ineffective Oyvind Leonhardsen and Willem Korsten with Dave McEwen and Simon Davies.

And as Everton's own efforts started to run out of steam, Smith made two changes of his own with 11 minutes remaining.

Israeli international Idan Tal and Danny Cadamarteri replaced the tiring Alexandersson and Joe-Max Moore.

But it was all to no avail as two struggling sides played out the inevitable stalemate.

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Everton: Myhre, Steve Watson, Weir, Ball, Unsworth, Alexandersson, Gravesen, Pembridge, Hughes, Campbell, Moore. Subs: Simonsen, Gemmill, Cleland, Cadamarteri, Tal.

Tottenham: Sullivan, Perry, Young, King, Clemence, Doherty, Sherwood, Anderton, Leonhardsen, Rebrov, Korsten. Subs: Walker, McEwen, Davies, Gardner, Thelwell.

Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay)