Referee Lee Mason was the centre of attention yesterday at the end of this frenetic, open game that either team could have won but neither deserved to lose. 

The man in the middle was booed from the pitch by the home fans after awarding Everton a second-half penalty while denying Sunderland one before the break. 

He had made the right decision in both cases and Sunderland were lucky not to have seen at least one, if not two, of their players walk.

Despite this Sunderland boss Gus Poyet had some sympathy for Mason. “I wouldn’t like to be the referee today. I think it was a tough game for him. 

“There were a lot of little things across the pitch, it’s hard to get it all right. Normally the best referees in the world are the ones no-one remembers. We shouldn’t be talking about him.”

The second moment of controversy came with 15 minutes to play when Samuel Eto’o fed Seamus Coleman in the area and Connor Wickham brought him down with an ugly challenge from behind.

The striker went through the back of Coleman and only then made the lightest connection with the ball. He was lucky not to walk for his trouble but this didn’t stop the Sunderland players vehemently protesting the decision. After several minutes Leighton Baines stepped up and slotted home despite Costel Pantilimon guessing the right way.

It was a blow for Sunderland who had taken the lead eight minutes earlier. Will Buckley, just on for Adam Johnson, surged forward and won a free-kick after a poor challenge from Baines.

It was the perfect distance for Seb Larsson who curled the ball into the bottom left-hand corner and through a gap in the wall created by John O’Shea leaning into the Everton defenders much to the obvious disgust of Tim Howard.

“It was a fascinating game from a tactical point of view as the result was always in the balance,” said Everton boss Roberto Martinez. 

“I felt we controlled the game for long spells but didn’t use that control to score that first goal that I felt we needed. 

“Once the first goal went to Sunderland I was pleased how we fought back.”