Solid at the back, and prompted in midfield by Michael Carrick, Spurs were starting to tick and took a deserved lead. The preamble to Robbie Keane's first-half penalty was impressive.
While Everton were more direct, their opponents played the better football, a contrast that gradually began to work in the visitors' favour. Tottenham with their free-flowing approach should have won by at least three.
Jermain Defoe was slow to acquaint himself with the ball in a match that threatened to examine only the physical qualities of its respective midfields but he could not be blamed for the struggle to finish Everton off.
For as long as there remained just a goal in it, Everton were spirited enough, but it rarely culminated in an opening of any significance. Their pressure served only to allow Tottenham more space on the break.
The half-time substitution that replaced Teemu Tainio with Danny Murphy did nothing to disrupt Tottenham's momentum. Had it not been for Richard Wright, they would have scored twice more within five minutes of the restart.