Ryan saves penalty, but can't thwart defeat
Everton continued its fine home form with a 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion, recovering after Wayne Rooney saw a penalty superbly saved by Australia's Mat Ryan.
A match pitting together two of the Premier League's mid-table clubs never looked likely to provide a feast of entertainment and the visitors' lack of ambition made for a largely drab affair, until a frantic final 30 minutes in which Rooney failed from the spot and Anthony Knockaert saw red.
Sam Allardyce's side certainly showed more desire to force the issue and was left to dwell on a first half of missed chances after going in goalless at the break.
But Gaeten Bong inadvertently made the breakthrough in the second half when he shinned Yannick Bolasie's curling delivery into an unguarded net, with Theo Walcott lurking.
Cenk Tosun then scored for the second game running as he fired in off the underside of the crossbar and Knockaert was dismissed for the Seagulls having lunged in on the returning Leighton Baines, before Ryan made his excellent save from Rooney's penalty.
The Toffees have now lost just once in 10 home league matches since Ronald Koeman left, with this triumph all but securing top-flight safety.
Brighton can also almost begin to plan for another campaign among the elite, despite having seen a fine seven-match unbeaten streak in all competitions ended in meek fashion.
