Everton fell to another defeat in the Premier League as Frank Lampard’s men lost 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg doubled the home side’s lead in the closing minutes after a penalty converted by Harry Kane put the Lilywhites ahead just before the hour mark.
The penalty came about from Jordan Pickford making contact with the England captain after initially spilling a shot from Matt Doherty.
Speaking about this particular incident to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Paul Brown was critical of the Toffees goalkeeper over what proved to be a costly moment.
Brown criticises Pickford
He said of the penalty concession: “I think it was quite a big mistake. He’s not the only goalkeeper to have made a mistake this season and I’ve seen goalkeepers make much bigger ones. But in the context of the game, it did obviously swing the game Tottenham’s way.
“I do think it was a penalty and I think that the fact that he spilled the ball was the bigger issue there. People have complained that Kane went down too easily. But I think there was enough contact there for most referees to have called that. He should really have just held the ball.
“Most goalkeepers in that situation, or most top-class goalkeepers, would have held the ball, I think, and then he knew straight away that he’d made a mistake.”
Pickford still crucial to Everton
Despite this unfortunate incident which ultimately cost his team a clean sheet and sent them on their way to a second successive defeat, Pickford has undeniably been an important figure for Frank Lampard’s side this season.
In addition to making the second-highest number of saves in the league (37), the 28-year-old also has the third-best save percentage in the division (81.3%) and has featured in all but one of their top-flight matches so far, marking him out as a Goodison Park stalwart.
While this incident and the overall result on Saturday will be disappointing for Pickford and Everton, the best thing they can do now is move on from it and focus on picking up a positive result in their next league game against Newcastle United on Wednesday night.
