That the biggest cheer of the night at Goodison Park came when news of Liverpool’s dramatic late defeat away to West Ham United filtered through the airwaves said much about the lacklustre nature of this game.

Everton strengthened their grip on fourth place in the Barclays Premier League with a point from a disappointing goalless draw, but with Tottenham Hotspur strangely subdued, it was hard not to view the match as a chance missed, given the events 200 miles away, even if the home team did create only one clear-cut opportunity.

Victory for Everton would have opened up a five-point gap between them and their Merseyside rivals. As it stands, David Moyes, the Everton manager, must settle for a three-point lead, although given Liverpool’s poor form of late, Aston Villa, in fifth, seem an equal threat to his team’s hopes of Champions League football.

“When you talk about the top four, you never talk about Everton, so I think there is less expectation on us than Liverpool,” Moyes said. “If we can make fourth, that would be outstanding, but I don’t think there is any point talking about that until nearer the end of the season, if we are still there.”

This was the first goalless draw to involve Tottenham in 52 league matches, which was perhaps no coincidence with Jonathan Woodgate bolstering a previously porous defence, although Spurs were partly indebted to Andrew Johnson. Not for the first time this season, Johnson forgot his shooting boots and this meant that Everton failed to expose Tom Huddlestone’s inexperience.

While Woodgate brought some much-needed composure to the Tottenham rearguard on his debut, the decision to partner Huddlestone, a midfield player, with the club’s new £7.5 million signing from Middlesbrough seemed less sound. Everton recognised as much but failed to do a great deal about it, and on the one occasion that they did catch out the makeshift defender, Johnson erred.

An hour had elapsed when Manuel Fernandes’s precise pass caught Huddlestone out of possession, but Johnson, clean through, was denied by Radek Cerny. It was a good save from the Tottenham goalkeeper to block Johnson’s drive before seizing the loose ball, but the England forward should have done better.

The only other real talking point came in the 33rd minute when Johnson gave Huddlestone the slip and sprinted towards goal, only to be brought down in the penalty area. Initially it appeared that Huddlestone had clipped Johnson’s heel, but while Moyes raced down the touchline crying “penalty”, Andre Marriner, the referee, waved away the appeals, probably correctly, as even the television replays were inconclusive.

Dimitar Berbatov, who was celebrating his 27th birthday, and Robbie Keane were kept relatively quiet, although the Bulgarian did have a shot well blocked by Phil Jagielka late on, while Keane forced a decent save from Tim Howard after his strike partner had intercepted a stray pass from Phil Neville.

Juande Ramos, the Tottenham head coach, could at least take some comfort from a clean sheet and an impressive performance from Woodgate. “He played very well. It was his first match. so it’s fair to say he does not know his team-mates very well, but he is experienced and can bring great things to Tottenham,” Ramos said.

Great things are what Moyes hopes Everton are on the brink of.

Everton (4-4-2): T Howard - P Neville, P Jagielka, J Lescott, N Valente – M Arteta, M Fernandes, L Carsley, L Baines – V Anichebe (sub: J Vaughan, 72min), A Johnson. Substitutes not used: A Van der Meyde, A Stubbs, Anderson Silva de Franca, S Wessels. Booked: Valente.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): R Cerny – P Chimbonda, J Woodgate, T Huddlestone, C Gunter (sub: K-P Boateng, 62) – A Lennon, J Jenas, J O’Hara, S Malbranque – D Berbatov, R Keane. Substitutes not used: P Robinson, Lee Young Pyo, J Defoe, R Rocha. Booked: Woodgate.

Referee: A Marriner.