AT THIS time of the season, teams such as these are usually striving for the points that will take them into a European place. But according to West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola, since the announcement that the Uefa Cup is to be reinvented as the Europa League, many clubs are discreetly trying to shed points to avoid a competition that is a fixture pile-up waiting to happen.

On that basis, after a week of wild conspiracy theories regarding the Champions League finalists,Tottenham fans will point to the erratic performance of their goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. It has been suggested that some clubs are not keen to be involved in the Europa League — and Gomes did his best to keep Tottenham out of it by doing everything but punch a cross into his own net. Others will dispute that he was trying to do that on the basis that he would be incapable of such accuracy.

Gomes is nothing if not entertaining and Everton sensed he might be their unwitting matchwinner as early as the 13th minute when he delivered a punch less convincing than any by Ricky Hatton last weekend. He then tried to dribble round Jo and proved his footwork was as dodgy as his handling with his attempt to trap a backpass.

Jonathan Woodgate called Gomes to come and collect another through ball but had to boot it into touch when he realised he was not going to get there. Dan Gosling also hit a post for Everton after Gomes’ clumsy punch fell at his feet. Even Redknapp, who has been supportive, had to concede that “he gives the crowd a lift. He gets them excited”.

Everton, who as FA Cup finalists are already entered in the Europa League, still had the greater incentive to win because manager David Moyes also wants them to claim fifth place. They had enough chances in the second half to move into that spot with a victory that would have seen them slip past Aston Villa.

If Gomes was an entertaining sideshow, one could not take one’s eye off Everton’s Steven Pienaar, whose dribbles and classy flicks came closest to undoing Spurs. Jo was the beneficiary of a great through ball just before half-time but Ledley King came across to block.

Tim Cahill almost won it for Everton with a shot that shaved a post, though Moyes was probably happier that Jermain Defoe’s effort went wide, letting Everton set a club record of 16 clean sheets in a season.

Assistant manager Steve Round said: “Sir Alex Ferguson said forwards win games and defences win championships and you can see what he means. We are very strong defensively but we dominated the second half and could have won it.”

Adding to the theory that Redknapp is lukewarm at best on the Europa League, he played a three-man defence in front of Gomes, and The conspiracy theorists will point to his selection of Gareth Bale, who extended to 19 his number of Premier League games without picking up a win bonus.

Redknapp said: “We tried a new system with three centre-backs and two wing-backs. It is something I used earlier in the season when I brought Portsmouth here and got a 3-0 win.

“We decided to try something different. We had plenty of possession and maybe deserved more from the game.”

Round admitted: “It was difficult at the start because we were not expecting them to play that system. But once we got to grips with the situation, we were in control and particularly in the second half we should have won it. They only had one decent chance in that period when Jermain Defoe shot wide."

He also praised “fantastic” goalkeeper Tim Howard for his clean sheets record”.

Everton will be confident of overtaking Villa as their players fight for a Cup final place, which should ensure a high-tempo finish before the Wembley match. As two of their other goalless draws have been against Chelsea, neutrals might not be so enthusiastic about the final.

Star Man: Steven Pienaar (Everton)

Yellow cards: Everton: Lescott, Pienaar. Tottenham: Hutton, Jenas, Pavlyuchenko

Referee: L Mason

Attendance: 36,646

EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 6, Yobo 6, Lescott 6, Baines 6, Gosling 6 (Osman 69min), Rodwell 6, Cahill 7, Pienaar 8, Fellaini 7, Jo 6 (Saha 69min).

TOTTENHAM: Gomes 6, Corluka 6, Woodgate 7, King 7, Hutton 6, Huddlestone 6, Bale 6, Jenas 6, Modric 7 (Pavlyuchenko 81min), Defoe 6, Keane 6.