KEVIN MIRALLAS’ PENALTY miss proved crucial at Goodison Park as Everton were held to a 0-0 draw by West Brom tonight.
Everton were left to rue a missed Kevin Mirallas penalty in their 0-0 Premier League draw with West Brom on Monday, after the Belgian controversially claimed spot-kick duties ahead of Leighton Baines, only to shoot wide.
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Despite Baines’ impressive record from 12 yards, Mirallas took charge of proceedings after Joleon Lescott had handled — but put the ball wide before being substituted by Roberto Martinez at half-time, who said afterwards that he wasn’t 100%.
“At that moment he felt really confident and he wanted to take it,” Martinez told Sky Sports.
“Leighton Baines is the number one penalty taker and I would have been happy for Leighton and Kevin to discuss that. The big issue is because he missed it.
“The big disappointment is because we couldn’t convert the penalty — not who took it.”
However, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was heavily-critical of Mirallas.
‘If he has done what I think he has done, which is go against team orders and managers orders and selfishly take the ball, it’s one of the most despicable breaches of team spirit you can possibly have. You do not do that at any cost.
It looks to me like something that you would class as unforgivable in the dressing room.”
The early withdrawal of Mirallas, in the wake of him seemingly over-ruling team orders by taking the penalty, is likely to prompt more questions over the future of a player apparently interesting the likes of Tottenham.
And the hosts’ frustrations continued into the second half as West Brom – adopting a defensive approach that saw them fail to muster a shot on target – held firm in the face of persistent pressure to pick up another point in their bid for survival.
Everton are now winless in six Premier League outings and only four points above the relegation zone, while West Brom are a point worse off and remain unbeaten under head coach Tony Pulis, who has wasted little time in stamping his mark on his new club.
