Sean Dyche could not even name a full complement of players on the bench, so a point feels like a small victory
Everton are a club seemingly in a state of permanent crisis so any positives will be grasped immediately by Sean Dyche.
The mood among supporters remains mutinous but here there was a first Premier League goal of the season, and a point which ends a run of three successive defeats, albeit against a newly promoted club.
Dyche would surely have been skating closer towards thin ice with a defeat here, and frustration has increased in the fanbase after a deadline day without any new arrivals.
The late departure of Alex Iwobi to Fulham in the final stages of the transfer window was another unwanted development, with Dyche admitting the sale was down to the bleak reality of the club’s financial position.