‘Stronger by the week’… Sean Dyche says 26-year-old Everton player keeps getting better every game

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Everton endured another gutless performance in front of goal last night, with fingers unsurprisingly pointing straight at their centre forward.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin extended his abysmal goalless run as he missed another handful of golden opportunities, and in the end, Sean Dyche was left to rely on yet another set-piece goal to bail his team out.

Settling for a draw against a Crystal Palace side without a permanent manager and three of their best players was the best that this terrible Toffees side could muster on the night.

However, the former Burnley boss remains confident that his main marksman will soon come good again, as he told Sky Sports immediately after the game.

What Sean Dyche said about Dominic Calvert-Lewin

With just three goals in the Premier League this campaign, it is no surprise that the 26-year-old is coming under increasing scrutiny.

However, this profligacy is not solely owed to his failures, as he offers so much more to Dyche’s team with regard to his work rate and link-up play that Beto simply does not.

It is those all-around assets alongside his willingness to work for the team that the 52-year-old manager sought to outline, as he told Monday Night Football: ‘He’s working hard at his game. He is playing stronger by the week. He is getting into key areas, that’s all I want to see.

‘The hardest thing in the world is putting the ball in the back of the net, or I think everyone would be doing it. But I think he is getting into key areas and I think he is delivering stronger performances.’

Dominic Calvert-Lewin impressed despite failing to score

Dyche is fair in his assessment of the forward, who is quite clearly devoid of confidence at the moment.

It is this lack of conviction in his efforts on goal that is preventing him from returning to the blistering form which saw him score 13 and 16 in back-to-back Premier League seasons in the past.

However, despite missing a couple of fine headed opportunities to score, it was actually still a good performance from Calvert-Lewin.

His effort levels can never be faulted, and the number of times he forged half chances from his work rate alone was so impressive.

One moment springs to mind in the first half, as an aimless first-half ball was sent towards the left side of Everton’s attack.

Calvert-Lewin, unwilling to let the ball simply return into the opposition’s grasp, came bounding across from the opposite side of the pitch to kill the ball out of the sky and win a throw-in.

It is these selfless acts of play that make him so invaluable to Dyche, and both fans and the media need to get off his back over his lack of scoring. They will return eventually, but he is so much more than that.