Tottenham 0-0 Everton: Harry Kane fails to fire as Spurs continue their winless start to the Premier League season in goalless draw

Tottenham and Everton played out a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane on Saturday in a game of few real opportunities
Harry Kane wasted the best chance of the game for Spurs when he fired a tame shot at goalkeeper Tim Howard
Tottenham are without a win this season having drawn three and lost one of their opening four league games
Kane had a goal disallowed for offside during the second half but in truth neither side came close to scoring
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Published:
18:23 GMT, 29 August 2015

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Updated:
18:37 GMT, 29 August 2015

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There will be times when Tottenham’s billionaire owner Joe Lewis watches his investment from the enormous yacht he has moored in the Bahamas and wonders whether he will ever see a return.

Here he had that sinking feeling, dropping in to White Hart Lane to watch this ailing Tottenham project alongside the chairman Daniel Levy.

Seasons just seem to float by at Spurs and this, just four games into the Barclays Premier League, is in danger of becoming another. They have yet to record a victory.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane reacts after a chance goes begging in a match of few opportunities at White Hart Lane on Saturday

Kane had a goal ruled out for offside during the second period but other than that both sides struggled to create many chances

MATCH FACTS, MATCH ZONE, PLAYER RATINGS AND LEAGUE TABLE

Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose; Dier, Bentaleb; Dembele (Alli 53mins), Mason (Pritchard 85), Chadli; Kane.

Subs not used: Carroll, Davies, Lamela, Trippier, Vorm.

Booked: Alli, Bentaleb, Dier, Chadli.

Everton (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Oviedo; McCarthy, Barry; Kone (Deulofeu 84), Barkley, Cleverley (Mirallas 45); Lukaku (Naismith 69).

Subs not used: Besic, Browning, Pennington, Robles.

Booked: Barry

Harry Kane struggled to make an impact inside the Everton area. See more from Sportsmail’s brilliant MATCH ZONE

This is not a vintage Everton team by any stretch of the imagination, but Roberto Martinez has a focused and disciplined team that was more than equal to Tottenham.

Truth be known the celebrated figure of John Stones and his centra defensive partner Phil Jagielka didn’t have an awful lot to do, mostly restricting Spurs to a string of botched chances from outside the area.

When Harry Kane went clean through in the first half, with England’s manager Roy Hodgson watching on from the stands, the Tottenham forward failed to punish Everton. It was a bad miss.

Roy Hodgson was making a final check on some of his England players before he announces his squad on Sunday for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Switzerland.

This was a bad miss by Kane, prevented from putting Spurs in front when Tim Howard blocked his chance as he advanced towards Everton’s goal.

Without his goals, those talismanic strikes that saved Spurs so many times last season, Mauricio Pochettino’s side appear ordinary and functional at times.

They need their main man to click in to gear, to feed off the the enthusiasm of Mason and fire Tottenham towards the higher reaches of the table.

He is a man crying out for help, for new signings Clinton Njie and Song Heung-min to acclimatise quickly and start to provide him with some much needed assistance.

Ahead of kick-off at White Hart Lane, new Tottenham signing Son Heung-min was unveiled in front of his new fans after completing a move

England manager Roy Hodgson was among the interested spectators at White Hart Lane, and he offered a wave to the Spurs fans early on

Tottenham’s Nacer Chadli sees off the challenge of Tom Cleverley as both sides struggled to find a way through during the first period

Kane, so prolific for Tottenham last season in his breakthrough campaign, had the best chance to break the deadlock but he missed

After the international break they should be fit, ready to make an impact into a team that is lacking that little bit of inspiration and penetration after a heavy start to the season.

Without a win in their opening three Premier League games, Pochettino was beginning to feel the heat ahead of this fixture with Roberto Martinez’s team.

Tottenham’s billionaire owner Lewis flew in, jetting in from the Bahamas to take in a rare Spurs game a few days before the transfer window shuts. It is clear they need reinforcements.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez issues instructions to John Stones, who handed in a transfer request this week, and Bryan Oviedo

Both sides were left frustrated with the lack of opportunities in the first half of the late kick-off, typified here by Ryan Mason’s reaction

Everton were decent opposition, creating their best chance of the first half when Tom Cleverley was first to react to Kyle Walker’s error.

Cleverley pounced, cutting in from the left but his curved effort was spectacularly saved by the flying figure of Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.

Cleverley’s game came to a premature end just before the break, stretchered off after Eric Dier’s clumsy challenge went unnoticed by referee Mike Jones. It deserved a booking.

Everton midfielder Cleverley had his legs caught by Tottenham’s Eric Dier in a challenge and spent some time down on the turf

Everton’s medical staff dealt with Cleverley, who was clearly in pain, towards the end of the first half before he was taken off with an injury

Pochettino’s hand was forced immediately after the break, turning to the young midfielder Dele Alli from the substitutes bench after Mousa Dembele went off with an injury. Alli added creativity

He turned provider when Gareth Barry failed to clear, teasing a pass into the feet of Mason that was comfortably saved by Howard.

His introduction added a little bit of urgency to the team, urged on by the fanatics in the Park Lane stand demanding the opening goal. They almost got it.

Cleverley was stretchered off after the challenge and the former Manchester United midfielder was withdrawn for Kevin Mirallas

Arouna Kone competed for the ball with Danny Rose as both sides looked to spark the second half into life after a drab opening period

Steven Naismith and Rose wrestle on the touchline as Martinez watches on while Everton look to push towards the Spurs goal

Mousa Dembele was another injury casualty in the early stages of the second half, following Cleverley offer on the medics’ stretcher

Kane tried to bulldoze his way through 20 minutes from time, booting the ball goalbound when he arrived just inside the edge of Everton’s penalty area.

When Everton cleared only as far as Nacer Chadli, the Tottenham midfielder curled his effort high into the stand behind Howard’s goal. It was a clumsy finish.

Martinez made his own changes, replacing the ineffective figure of Romelu Lukaku with Steven Naismith for the final 20 minutes.

Five minutes from time Pochettino sent for Alex Pritchard, turning the young midfielder on his Premier League debut for that little bit of inspiration.

As ever here, it was too little too late.