Tim Howard was the subject of adulation from Everton boss Roberto Martinez on Wednesday night.
The Toffees keeper was back to his absolute best with a commanding performance, marking his 350th Premier League appearance with a clean sheet, in his side's 0-0 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
After some questionable performances in recent outings, namely in the 3-2 loss to Leicester City and 4-3 defeat to Stoke City, many Toffees fans were looking for Martinez to replace the USA international with Joel Robles but the 36-year-old stepped up to make a number of key saves against City and vindicate his place in the starting XI.
In the wake of the much-improved display, in which Howard denied the likes of Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero, Martinez told Sky Sports: "It was a huge performance.
"I never thought it was in doubt. He [Howard] is such an experienced character and he takes responsibility if he faces any sort of adversity.
"He has the influence that you like to have in a dressing room with lots of young players. The way he trains on a daily basis allows you to see he is going to perform well.
"We all have good moments of form and bad moments, and a goalkeeper will always be highlighted in certain moments, but today he showed he is a very valuable part of our squad and a really special footballer."
