I WAS at White Hart Lane on Sunday to witness a game between two teams that both failed to hit top form.

Spurs, in particular, were poor, but great credit nevertheless must be given to Everton for a solid if unspectacular away display in which there were actually some good individual and group performances.

For Spurs the players who have been earning rave reviews of late – Tom Huddlestone, Aaron Lennon, Darren Bent and Roman Pavlyuchenko – were all disappointing, but that was at least due in part to the tenacity and determination of their immediate opposite numbers.

Joleon Lescott didn’t give Lennon a kick, Phil Jagielka was awesome and, with Joseph Yobo, created a formidable barrier that restricted the home side to only two reasonable opportunities that were missed by Lennon and Bent.

Everton manager David Moyes opted for the tried and trusted 4-5-1 formation and his midfield trio were simply too much for Huddlestone and Didier Zokora.

It was the defensive solidity provided by a resolute back four performance, combined with the added protection of the extra man in midfield that gave Everton the platform on which they built a match-winning display.

The victory could have been more comprehensive had Louis Saha converted the best chance of the game – as one might have expected from a man of undoubted quality who has been returning to his best form over the course of the past few games.

It’s been said many times before that Moyes took a calculated when he bought the French striker and unfortunately for everyone concerned Saha picked up yet another injury during the game to join James Vaughan and Ayegbeni Yakubu – who suffered a particularly nasty and long-term problem after an innocuous challenge – on the Goodison Park sidelines. But what on the face of it would appear to be bad news for Everton is not necessarily catastrophic.

The situation means that Victor Anichebe will be given a golden opportunity to show what he can do given an extended run in the team.