Wayne Rooney has been praised by Everton manager Sam Allardyce for his performance against Albion today - even though he missed a penalty.

Mathew Ryan denied him with a fine save late-on in the Seagulls' 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park.

Rooney rescued a point from the spot for Everton in stoppage time at the Amex earlier in the season.

Allardyce used the ex-England captain in a deeper midfield role as the Merseysiders maintained their powerful home form to move back above Albion in mid-table.

Allardyce said: "You have to give credit to Wayne Rooney today, playing in a position he doesn't play in normally. We had a very attacking three in midfield and we asked Wayne to be responsible enough to be the playmaker and sit deep.

"Our big problem has been away from home. If you reverse it (home and away form) and look with the home points we've gained we're riding high in the top six.

"The players had to handle the pressure today. Our form away, that's been a long standing problem and it was a big win under those circumstances. The players accepted the pressure and delivered a performance."

Ryan's penalty save was his second in successive away games after preserving a point for Albion at Stoke by foiling Charlie Adam in injury time.