Everton earn draw at Palace but slip into bottom three

LONDON : Everton ended Crystal Palace's winning run under returning coach Roy Hodgson as they held out for a 0-0 Premier League draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but the Merseyside club have dropped into the relegation zone.

Clear-cut chances were few and far between but Everton’s Alex Iwobi forced an excellent low stop from goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, while Palace’s Eberechi Eze had the ball in the back of the net but was correctly adjudged offside.

Everton finished the game with 10 men when defender Mason Holgate, making his first start since early November, received a second yellow card, though it appeared a harsh decision from referee John Brooks as he won the ball in the tackle.

Everton drop into the bottom three on goal difference behind Leicester City, who won 2-1 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers, having amassed 28 points from 32 games. Palace stay in 12th place on 37 points from the same number of matches.

Palace had won all three games since the return of 75-year-old Hodgson to the South London club and dominated the first half, but were unable to punish a sloppy visiting side, whose poor passing left them pinned in their own half.

Everton improved after the break and fit-again striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin almost broke the deadlock when his excellent turn in the box bamboozled two defenders but his shot went narrowly wide of the post.