Toffees hitting their sticky patch

HAVE Everton run out of steam as the race for the fourth and final Champions League spot enters the finishing straight?

That was the question their fans were asking themselves as they filed out of Goodison Park yesterday after a desperately poor game which the hosts narrowly won courtesy of Leon Osman’s first Premier League goal since November.

David Moyes’ side remain on Liverpool’s coat tails, three points behind their fourth-placed neighbours with five games remaining. But Everton’s chances of finishing above Rafael Benitez’s side for the second time in four seasons are beginning to fade, despite ending a three-match run without a win.