David Moyes remained upbeat following Sunderland’s defeat at Everton, but admitted he was disappointment with the two goals his side conceded at Goodison Park.
The Black Cats fought valiantly against an attack-minded Toffees side with Jordan Pickford involved in a large chunk of first-half action on his return from injury.
Pickford produced a number of important stops but could do little to stop Idrissa Gueye’s pile-driver opener on 38 minutes.
Tom Davies then cracked a rocket strike against the post as Everton went in at the break worthy leaders.
A rejuvenated Moyes’ side returned after the 15 minute interval, and following end-to-end action Jermain Defoe hit the underside of the bar as Sunderland looked to snatch a point.
But a minute after that attempt, Romelu Lukaku cruelly secured all three points as fended off Bryan Oviedo’s challenge and dinked the ball over a helpless Pickford.
Speaking post-match, Moyes delivered his honest verdict on the match.
“We had done ever so well to make sure it was only 1-0,” he said.
“It was late in the game and we were always hoping that we could nick something but we weren’t good enough in the first half.
“I thought we got better in the second half and we sort of had one chance.
“We had grown into it and sort of played better but ultimately we didn’t get it and we gave away a poor second goal,” he continued.
“The players are giving it everything they’ve got and it’s certainly not for the lack of effort or running or working (that we’ve lost).”
