Saturday 13 February 2016 18:40, UK
Roberto Martinez insists Everton "could not have done more" to beat West Brom after their 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Everton had 34 shots on goal to West Brom's five, and had 76 per cent of the possession as Salomon Rondon's 14th-minute tap-in gave Tony Pulis' Baggies the victory.
The hosts hit the woodwork twice in the first half, and had several other chances to equalise, but Martinez insists his side did nothing wrong.
He said: "I think we didn't do anything wrong, it's one of those games where you find it very difficult to see how you concede from the only corner West Brom had, and their one shot on target.
"We had 34 opportunities, I thought we looked bright enough to know how to open this West Brom team. We hit the post, hit the crossbar.
"The effort, and the way we played the game, I couldn't fault. It's just one of those moments in football that is sometimes difficult to explain."
The defeat marked Everton's sixth at home this season, and despite admitting the result was hard to take, Martinez says they are not far away from turning bad luck into good luck.
"The defeat, after looking at the dominance we had, is difficult to take. Today you can't highlight an area we didn't do well. We kept West Brom in a way that they didn't bring any threat.
"The players performed in a good manner, and it's difficult to explain how we didn't get the three points.
"I feel some of the margins are there for us to change them quickly, and to rely on a bit of a chemistry between us and our fans. Our performance today, there's nothing we could have done more."
Martinez's decision to replace Aaron Lennon with Gerard Deulofeu in the 74th minute was met with some jeers around Goodison Park, but the Spaniard says he was looking to bring on fresh legs to further stretch West Brom down their left-hand side.
"We've got a good squad in numbers, and Aaron performed really, really well, and just to have a bit of fresh legs when you see a player who is defending for 90 minutes, like the left-back was, and obviously he was booked when you've got a fresh pair of legs.
"Deulofeu is someone that in one-on-one situations can create something out of nothing, so it's making sure you use your substitutions and the quality we've got in the squad.
"It wasn't anything about the performance of Aaron Lennon, I think he was outstanding for the time he was on the pitch."
