Everton had scored in their previous seven league matches but a first home defeat of 2015 was more frustrating for manager Roberto Martinez as they fell to a 2-0 loss to Sunderland.
Sunderland striker Danny Graham's first goal for the club may have been a fluke but its significance could not be under-estimated as the Black Cats took another step towards Premier League survival, while Jermain Defoe's close-range strike five minutes from time ended things at 2-0.
And the Everton manager was unhappy his side did not take their chances.
"You have to score goals. I would have been very disappointed if we had not found the way to have an attacking threat or it had been a pedestrian game," Martinez said. "I don't think today has been that case but we cannot be happy with what happened in the 18-yard box.
"I don't think we were sharp enough. We had 22 attempts, 15 corners, 75 per cent possession. The technical aspect of the performance was very good and I thought we opened Sunderland up in many occasions.
"Today everything that could have gone against us in our box did -- like a deflected shot the first time they got anywhere near our 18-yard box. The two goals are very unfortunate, the second John Stones gets impeded by Steven Fletcher."