Martinez: Tim Howard was at his very best today

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has praised his side and in particular under fire goalkeeper Tim Howard who pulled off a number of excellent saves to help his side to a 1-0 victory over Southampton at Goodison Park.

The blues boss felt his side coped well with a team who have had a brilliant season and says that they now have to focus on the final matches of the season and try and win as many of the 21 points that are available as they can.

“It was a day for digging in for the result,” he said. “We faced a very good side – Southampton deserve credit for what they have done this season. They are a team that have a good threat up front and use their positional play really well.

“I thought we stopped them doing what they normally do and they found it difficult to break us down.

“From our point of view, it was a really open game. Early on, they had two clear opportunities which were the only shots they had on target. That shows you how well we defended.

“But Tim Howard was at his very best, and when your goalkeeper keeps you in the game in key moments it is very important.

“We scored a goal and had a few other half opportunities, and from that point on we managed the game really well.

“We showed maturity in doing things that kept a team like Southampton at bay and when you see a performance like that, with young players like John Stones and Ross Barkley involved, it pleases you.”

“We want to maintain this focus and intensity,” he added. “We knew it was important to beat Newcastle, we carried that into the QPR game and today was exactly the same. We wanted to win.

“We had a strong focus and a lot of grit, determination and fight. Now we have another 21 points to fight for.

“What I liked was that we looked comfortable playing at Goodison. We felt at ease playing at home, as it should be, and that is important because we have another four games here.”

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