James Tarkowski believes there is “so much to be pleased about” as Everton produced another promising performance in a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Vitalii Mykolenko fired the Blues into an early lead, scoring his first goal at Goodison Park, in the seventh minute of Saturday afternoon’s encounter.

Brighton dominated possession, accumulating an 80 per cent share throughout the 90 minutes, but the Toffees managed to deny the visitors of an equaliser until there were just six minutes remaining.

Kaoru Mitoma’s left-footed cross rebounded off Ashley Young, flying up in the air, before finding the back of Jordan Pickford’s goal.

Despite the late disappointment, Tarkowski knows his side performed admirably against Roberto De Zerbi’s high-fliers.

“I thought Youngy was excellent all day against Mitoma, who is really difficult to play against. He gets his body in the way and it deflects. It went perfectly for them," said the centre-back.

“They’re a tough side to play against, but I thought we stuck to our game plan brilliantly. We did the same thing to them last year at their home and scored a few more goals.

“I thought we defended really well throughout the game, and kept them to minimal chances, but then, a deflection goes in.

“So I’m disappointed, really, because I thought we had three points in the bag going into the final 10 minutes, but it wasn’t to be.”

Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (six) won more aerial duels than Tarkowski (four), who produced another immense defensively display after showing his offensive potency in scoring against former club Burnley in midweek.

Captaining Everton once again on Saturday, he was keen to praise the efforts of teammates Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure, along with goalscorer Mykolenko

“Yes [I’m delighted for him],” said Tarkowski, discussing Mykolenko’s goal. “He’s been brilliant recently. He’s come up against some good players, and he’s been one of our best players to be fair to him, so he deserves a goal.

“It was nice for him. He swings his right foot, which he doesn’t do very often, and it was a nice goal.

“I thought Dominic was terrific for us – a real out ball, and Doucs with him.”

Despite the late Seagulls goal denying Everton of the opportunity to extend their impressive form to six wins in eight, Tarkowski is confident about the Blues’ future.

“There is so much to be pleased about, especially with the week we’ve had, but it’s just disappointing to not get the three points.

“We just want to keep climbing that table. We didn’t get the results early in the season that we felt we deserved, and now we are, so just keep picking up points and let’s see where we go.

“Yes, it was a challenging [start to the season]. I think the performances early in the season were good, but results weren’t. But now we’re picking up results with the performances, which is pleasing.

“We need to be consistent because we have been this week. It’s been a real good week of work for everyone, and then we look forward to next week because we’re in a nice place at the minute.”