Upon reflection, a draw was probably a fair result for Everton yesterday, despite leading for large parts of their match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
After all, despite Vitaliy Mykolenko putting them in front early on, they saw little of the ball after that, with the bulk of their threat coming through quick and incisive counters.
Whilst that merited big chances in the first half, tired legs saw those opportunities lessen dramatically as the game went on, seeing the game devolve into attack against defence.
However, Sean Dyche felt like his side should have been given the opportunity to double their lead before Kaoru Mitoma’s deflected cross looped over Jordan Pickford to equalise.
As Jan Paul van Hecke tussled with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the Dutch defender bundled the striker over, resulting in the former Burnley boss telling BBC Sport: ‘I spoke to the referee briefly and mentioned that the centre-half was the wrong side of Dom and that is when you get your arms around someone.
‘The ball drops, it [the challenge] starts outside and he drags him inside the box, but it is a really important call and it went against us. I don’t know how it went against us because I thought it was obvious.’
Should Everton have had a penalty vs Brighton?
Given the precedent certain incidents earlier in the season have set, such a physical attempt to thwart the 26-year-old striker could certainly have merited a spot kick.
After all, Rasmus Hojlund’s pull-back on Rodri saw Manchester City gifted a penalty against their rivals, setting them on their way to a 3-0 win just last month.
All fans want from officials is consistency, and yet week after week it seems a new wild decision has been made. Whilst the one in question is unlikely to draw widespread media debate, it does outline a clear example of how the rules of the game seem malleable with each game.
Although Tim Robinson enjoyed a relatively uneventful afternoon at Goodison Park, it seems that he missed a key call that could have proved pivotal for an Everton side still awaiting the verdict on a potential 12-point deduction for financial misconduct.
Van Hecke was clearly manhandling Calvert-Lewin, and this was not the only occasion where Everton players were treated with immense physicality in the opposition’s box.
Perhaps, on another day or with a more stringent referee, a penalty could have been awarded to hand the Toffees three points.
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