David Moyes was content with a point at Stoke as his Everton side maintained their strong finish to the season.
Everton boss determined to finish season strongly
David Moyes was content with a point at Stoke as his Everton side maintained their strong finish to the season.
Everton have gone seven games unbeaten since losing to Arsenal in March and looked set to claim all three points at the Britannia Stadium before Cameron Jerome earned a 1-1 draw for the hosts.
And while Moyes bemoaned his side's inability to add to Peter Crouch's first-half own goal, he accepts it is not a bad result for his team.
"Getting the first goal helped us," he said. "That's always important.
"We gave away a lot of free-kicks at the start of the second half and that gave them a bit of momentum.
"We couldn't quite get that second goal.
"But Stoke were much better in the second half and it's not a bad point away at Stoke."
Different
Everton's fortunes may have taken a turn for the worse in the second half of this particular game but it's a different story in terms of the season as a whole.
After losing six of their first 10 Premier League games of the season, Everton are currently on a run of just two defeats from their last 16 matches.
The improved form has lifted the Toffees above neighbours Liverpool, who lost at home to Fulham on Tuesday night, into seventh spot.
Moyes said: "We've tried to finish the best we could in the second half of the season.
"I'd like to do it in the first half as well."
Asked if he was sick of being asked if he knew the reason for Everton's regular habit of starting seasons slowly and ending them strongly, Moyes smiled, saying: "Yes, I am sick of answering that question."
