It was perhaps the clearest sign yet of how far we have come that we all left Goodison Park on Saturday feeling disappointed.

I was gutted that we couldn’t hold on to collect all three points, although I also understand why some people will say Brighton & Hove Albion deserved a point. However, I can’t help but feel that Jordan Pickford let himself down on Saturday afternoon. For Brighton’s goal, he simply must do better.

And when I say he should do better, I don’t mean in terms of saving Kaoru Mitoma’s cross that took a wicked deflection off Ashley Young; I am talking about his role in the build-up to the piece of play that sees the Brighton man pick up the ball out wide.

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There is no doubting that Jordan’s kicking can be spectacular at times, but on Saturday he had absolutely no reason to rush his kick, which resulted in Brighton getting the ball back and then drawing level just seconds later.

He doesn't have to go for the Hollywood ball all the time. There are times when he should be reading the room and taking his time.

It was quite clear on Saturday that the lads needed a break and a little pause in play to get their breath back. The way Sean Dyche sets us up is very demanding physically and mentally, so when you are in the lead in the closing stages, you have to take the opportunities that come your way to calm things down.

Jordan has to calm down, slow the game down and take as long as he can. He then should be concentrating on his kick and where he intends to put it. When you have a player like Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front, it doesn't have to be anything spectacular; you just need to put height on the ball and aim it in his direction. You don’t have to burst the ball.

But on Saturday, Pickford fluffed his lines, and we gave the ball back to Brighton far too easily. It was an unforced error that led to the equaliser.

From an outfield perspective, we weren't set up because Jordan kicked the ball too quickly. He’s essentially kicking the ball up the pitch with his two centre-backs still inside the six-yard box.

Sometimes it is the small things that make all the difference, and unfortunately for us on Saturday, one slip-up has been pounced upon, and we have then been punished.

But for me, the game in general was another step in the right direction, and Sean Dyche also deserves praise because we have come a long way in a very short space of time.

Vitalii Mykolenko finally showing why we signed him

I thought Vitalii Mykolenko’s goal on Saturday was the perfect reward for his impressive performances over the last few weeks.

Since the resumption of the season following the September international break, the full-back has been superb and is finally showing why we clearly wanted to bring him to the club.

I think it is fair to say that he is somewhat old-fashioned in terms of how he plays the full-back role, but defensively, he isn’t putting a foot wrong at the moment.

We just want consistency with decisions from referees

I have to agree with the comments Sean Dyche made about the officials on Saturday.

I, like a lot of people, don’t like to comment on the performances of the officials, but I have to say that at the weekend I couldn’t help but think a few calls went against us.

Twice, Abdoulaye Doucoure was penalised for nudges in the back during either half. Fine, no problem. If referee Tim Robinson thinks they are fouls, then I have no issues with that.

But what really annoyed me was that when Dwight McNeil was nudged in the back during the opening 45 minutes, the referee waved play on. The same happened again during the second-half when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was pushed over.

You can’t be giving a foul to one side and not the other. You don’t want favours from referees, but you do want consistency.