Saturday 10 January 2015 19:27, UK
Everton manager Roberto Martinez praised for his side’s character after they battled back from a goal down to draw with Manchester City in the Premier League.
Fernandinho opened the scoring for the champions at Goodison Park in the 74th minute but Everton fought back through Steven Naismith’s header to earn a share of the spoils for his side.
And Martinez believes it won’t be long before his side are back to their very best on a more consistent basis.
“I was so pleased with the reaction we had,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
“After going a goal down it becomes an exercise of character and as a team I thought we were terrific in that respect. Overall I think the draw is probably about right.
“The character we showed on Tuesday coming from behind in the FA Cup game and today shows the personality and the character in the group is ready to get the confidence back and be at our very best.
“Overall I’m very pleased with that side of the performance.”
Martinez, whose side moved up to 12th in the league, was delighted with how his side defended against the likes of David Silva and Samir Nasri and praised the concentration levels of his players.
“Manchester City were getting on the ball with a lot of confidence and we had to be at our best,” he added.
“Defensively I though we showed a lot of incredible concentration. We limited Man City to very little and then we had couple of great opportunities when Seamus hit the crossbar.
“They are moments that can change the game and I thought about that when we went a goal behind.
Martinez reserved special praise for the returning John Stones and his centre-back partner Phil Jagielka, claiming there’s a special partnership forming between the England internationals.
“They’ve got a great understanding,” he added.
“When you look at John and Phil there’s a special partnership there.
“There’s a real respect for each other but there’s a mixture of their abilities which is very good for a centre-back partnership.”
