A late Hector Yuste header condemned Everton to a draw with Apollon Limassol.

In a poor first half, the Blues found themselves behind in the 12th minute when a mistake from Ashley Williams gifted Adrian Sardinero the chance to fire home.

It was not a lead the Cypriot side would hold for long as a slip by their goalkeeper Bruno Vale gave Wayne Rooney a tap-in from close range.

Substitute Nikola Vlasic handed Everton the lead with his first goal, a strike that looked destined to seal a win after Valentin Roberge was sent off for a stamp.

But that did not prove to be the case as Yuste rose highest to meet a cross and head past Jordan Pickford with just two minutes of normal time remaining.

Here were the key talking points from the Blues’ stalemate:

Patience wearing thin at Goodison

 

Everton are a club that backs its managers with the fan base largely following suit.

There is no denying it, though; Ronald Koeman is currently walking on thin ice with a large section of Evertonians.

Wins over Sunderland and Bournemouth may have eased the tension somewhat but there is an undercurrent of weariness sweeping around the Old Lady these days.

Sideways passes and pedestrian football is often met with loud groans from the home faithful, much as it was during the dark days of Roberto Martinez’s reign.

Everton fans were expecting far more than what is being offered and the pressure is on Koeman to provide it or duly follow in Martinez’s footsteps.

No accounting for errors

 

One thing that Koeman cannot account for at present is the number of individual errors his side are making.

First it was Mason Holgate’s header at Manchester City, then it was Ashley Williams’ mistake at Manchester United that put the game beyond the Blues.

It was the Welshman who was at fault again in this game; his poor pass gifting Apollon the ball and directly leading to Adrian Sardinero’s opening goal.

Later in the game, it was a needless foul conceded by Davy Klaassen that set up the free kick which culminated in the visitor’s 88th-minute equaliser.

Fans can criticise Koeman all they like but there is nothing he can do about individual errors such as these. The blame lies solely with his players.

Sandro is way off the pace

 

Sandro Ramirez arrived at Everton amid a wave of optimism this summer.

Many fans believed they had pulled off one of the coups of the transfer window.

So far, the Spaniard is yet to prove that is the case. There is no denying that the forward has the ability but that is yet to come to the fore in a royal blue shirt.

He was frustratingly poor again here; with his first touch drawing comparisons to that of the man he replaced Romelu Lukaku.

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin earning rave reviews, Sandro has a lot of work to do to prove he is more deserving of more than a place on the substitutes’ bench.

Blues’ Europa journey in jeopardy

 

Doing things the hard way seems to be a speciality for Everton and it seems they are determined to make things as hard as possible this season for themselves.

A strong Europa League campaign was being dreamed up long before the group stage draw was made but now it may be over before it has properly begun.

Their opening two games against Atalanta and Apollon were forecast to deliver between four and six points – instead, they’ve produced just the one.

With back-to-back games against Lyon to come, Everton now face an uphill challenge to reach the knockout stages of this competition.

The evidence provided so far suggests it is one they will not be capable of overcoming.