James Tarkowski has issued a rallying cry to Everton's forwards after Saturday's stalemate at Crystal Palace - insisting "we need more from them".
Sean Dyche's side were unable to claim their first Premier League victory since March 11 as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, where Mason Holgate was sent-off for a second yellow card late on.
Despite the return of No.9 Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has spent almost the entirety of Dyche's reign at Goodison Park on the sidelines, the Blues were restricted to just two shots on target in south London.
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The England international, though, had Everton's best chance of the game after the interval when his stunning first touch opened the space for him to unleash an effort at Sam Johnstone's goal. However, he was unable to divert his shot on target and fired wide.
Alex Iwobi was responsible for one of the Blues' shots on targets as he tried his luck from range prior to Calvert-Lewin's fine solo attempt, though his sighter from range was well-saved by Johnstone.
Speaking after the draw at Selhurst Park, which saw Everton sucked back into the Premier League's bottom three, Tarkowski highlighted a lack of cutting edge in the final third as a cause for concern ahead of a nervy six-week scramble to maintain their top-flight status.
"We were quite disappointed, we're in a real battle and we need more," said the defender. "We had the opportunity to pick up three points.
"To grind it out with 10 men is nice but there's way more from us. We defended well, we had conceded a few goals recently so that's a plus but we need to do more and expect more from our forward players. We have some really talented boys but we need more from them."
After 31 games of the Premier League season, the Blues are the lowest scorers in the division with 24 goals. Demarai Gray and Dwight McNeil rank as the club's top goalscorers with four goals apiece in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon, who departed Goodison Park two-and-a-half months ago, is just one goal behind with three.
"It has been a tough season and maybe we are losing that confidence," added Tarkowski, who played the full 90 minutes at Palace. "The players we have got are super super talented boys.
"The season has not finished now so I don't look at the table, there's six games to go."
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