Emmanuel Adebayor swaggered towards the corner of the pitch and performed his slow, celebratory salute having grabbed the game’s only goal with Tottenham’s first effort on target.

It came in the 65th minute, it was his seventh in 11 games for Tim Sherwood and it was a reminder of the value of strikers with a genuine instinct for scoring goals.

When it mattered, Adebayor was alive to the danger and in such a prolific groove that he won three points for Spurs from a game in which Everton were generally better.

With Romelu Lukaku injured and new loan signing Lacina Traore not ready to start, Roberto Martinez chose to play without a recognised striker.

Nor did Martinez send one on when chasing an equaliser and his team suffered, unable to convert their slick possession into anything meaningful.

They returned to Merseyside frustrated, partly by the excellence of Hugo Lloris, who made a couple of fine saves early in the game, but was rarely troubled afterwards.

It had been a peculiar contest, high on quality at times — especially from the visitors, who passed and pressed in the first half with energy and urgency — but starved of goalmouth incident.

Then, at the final whistle, came further evidence of the value of a goalscorer, when thousands lingered at White Hart Lane to bid farewell to Jermain Defoe.

Defoe appeared as a late substitute and buzzed Tim Howard with a crisp shot from an angle in what was probably his final home game before crossing the Atlantic to play for Toronto FC.

He has scored 143 goals for Spurs — fifth in the all-time list — and will be missed, not least by Sherwood who thought Defoe might have started too early with his long goodbye since he has three away games to play before he departs.

With Roberto Soldado struggling to make an impression, it leaves the onus on Adebayor to keep supplying the goals if Spurs are to close the three-point gap on Liverpool in fourth and stay ahead of Everton.

Martinez searched for encouragement from a fourth successive Premier League away game without victory. ‘We started brilliantly,’ said the Everton boss. ‘Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good, but when you are the better side you need to win the game.’

Ultimately, they were punished for a rare lapse of concentration in defence. Kyle Walker reacted smartly when a free-kick was awarded in midfield and clipped the ball forward to Adebayor, who had drifted away from Phil Jagielka and towards Seamus Coleman.

Jagielka and Coleman were solid for most of the game but here they were napping. Adebayor took control, had the muscle to hold off Coleman and drove a shot low past Tim Howard.

‘As soon as he got it on to his left foot, I knew it was going to end up in the net,’ said Sherwood, who has enjoyed the sort of commitment from Adebayor that Andre Villas-Boas did not.

‘He’s a good character and has the right application and I’m delighted with him,’ said Sherwood, adding with a smile: ‘It’s all about how he’s managed.’

True words may be spoken in jest, but Tottenham must tackle the Adebayor issue soon. He has a year left on his contract and his form has been impressive.

Everyone at White Hart Lane knows, however, he is capable of switching off. For now, Sherwood will keep cajoling him and hope he propels Tottenham towards the Champions League.

Everton had a strong penalty appeal rejected in added time when Coleman, darting in from the right, beat Etienne Capoue to the ball just inside the penalty area, poked it away and was tripped.

‘It was a careless challenge,’ said Martinez. ‘I’ve seen them given.’ Not, however, on this occasion and it added to the feeling that his team ought to have taken advantage of an impressive opening spell.

Lloris made a terrific save in the seventh minute, springing to his left to push away a volley from Leon Osman, who then headed wide when unmarked from the corner.

Spurs offered little in return. Gareth Barry and James McCarthy dominated in midfield but the second half became more even and the only goal came from a quick and direct set-piece.

‘Hugo kept us in the game,’ said Sherwood. ‘We started slow again and we’ve got to find out why. We started slow against Manchester City and were out of the game. We can’t keep relying on our goalie to keep us in the game all the time.’

—Daily Mail