Tuesday 8 December 2015 08:15, UK
Everton manager Roberto Martinez hailed Romelu Lukaku as a "unique No 9" after the Belgian struck to secure a point against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
The hosts piled on the pressure in the second half of their Monday Night Football encounter in an attempt to break down a stubborn Palace defence but fell behind to a Scott Dann header after 76 minutes.
Lukaku hit the post in the first half, the bar in the second and eventually got his goal when he tapped in from Gerard Deulofeu's cross late in the Premier League game.
It was the 22-year-old's 50th goal in 100 appearances for the Blues and Martinez told Sky Sports he could be the complete striker.
"He deserves a lot of praise because he is a very reliable footballer," Martinez said. "He arrived at the club at a very young age but is someone who has been developing month after month and now he has got a real enjoyment but also a real responsibility with everything else apart from scoring goals.
"He is such a unique No 9. Normally No 9s master one aspect - they can hold the ball up, they are strong or they have got pace, they are finishers - but I think Rom can be everything and I think that is a phenomenal attribute for our team.
"I think you're looking at his moment, it is a very good one. In front of goal, he is lethal; he could have scored a hat-trick today."
Overall, Martinez said he was pleased with his side's determination to get back into the game, despite going behind to Dann's header and believes he has a good balance throughout the squad.
"You can see why Crystal Palace have a really good record away from home," he said. "They are very direct, they use their power and pace extremely well and I thought we coped with their counter-attack fantastically well until the last 10 minutes.
"It was one of those games you have to score goals. We hit the post, we hit the crossbar, I thought we had good opportunities that, on another day, we could take and that would have been the difference.
"The hardest thing is to be able to get back into a game when they get a lead with a set-piece where we were a little soft and, from then on, if you look at the record, Crystal Palace don't give leads away.
"So I am delighted with the attitude, the determination to get back into it and disappointed that we dropped two points in our eyes and it is something we need to learn a little better that we need to defend at the back with a little more focus than that."
Martinez added: "As a team, we are growing all the time, we are still young, but we have a very good mixture.
"The influence of players like Gareth Barry and Tim Howard is essential and then you are looking at the young players; from back to front, we are developing a real good understanding. We need to get better but we are starting to see signs of very exciting times ahead."
