Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew thinks that his side could have won the game at Goodison Park had two major decisions gone their way, but ultimately accepted that a draw was probably a fair result.
Scott Dann’s header gave Palace the lead in the 76th minute, but Romelu Lukaku continued his fine goalscoring form by getting the equaliser just five minutes later, meaning both sides had to settle for a point.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Pardew said that the result was a fair one.
I thought it was a fair result because we showed all the qualities that we have as a team. We have got discipline, [we are] dogged and have quality on the break when we are an away side.
However, the Palace boss said that his side could have taken all three points back to Selhurst Park had two refereeing decisions been given in favour of his side.
Tonight we have played a team in top form and we still almost won. But for a couple of refereeing decisions that, in my view, they have got wrong, we could have won it.
In the first half, Everton midfielder Gareth Barry clearly held Mile Jedinak’s shirt as the Palace captain tried to attack a corner, but the officials didn’t give what Pardew thought was a clear penalty.
I think it was obvious from where I was standing that [Jedinak’s] shirt was being pulled but the referee and linesman didn’t see it, which I’m surprised at.
Pardew also thought that a challenge from Ramiro Funes Mori on substitute Jordon Mutch that went unpunished could also have been a penalty, although replays show the contact was made outside the box.
The second one was 12 yards from the linesman and I don’t think he plays the ball at all and if he can’t see that, then there is a problem. But they are swings and roundabout decisions; we accept they don’t always go our way because that is part and parcel of the game. It was one of those nights and, in the context of what happened tonight, a draw was a fair result, no doubt about that. But sometimes you can win when you perhaps don’t deserve to, and that could have happened had those decisions gone our way.
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