E NGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Everton 2 Tottenham 1:A GOAL from Seamus Coleman secured what was only Everton's third home win of the season, one that nevertheless moved them above Liverpool in the table and put Tottenham's top-four ambitions into perspective.

Both sides created chances in an open and entertaining game and both goalkeepers were beaten twice, though Peter Crouch made a costly mistake at the end of the first half, when he saw a goal chalked off after needlessly taking up an offside position.

With Tim Cahill away at the Asian Cup and only a single point from two away trips since Christmas, David Moyes decided to push the boat out and use two strikers, a rare sight at Goodison of late.

His adventure gained almost immediate reward when Louis Saha scored his first league goal in almost a year, giving Everton a lead in less than three minutes. William Gallas was slow to close Saha down on the edge of the area, and Heurelho Gomes was taken by surprise and beaten by the accuracy of a low strike that crept just inside his right-hand post.

Spurs have come back from worse setbacks than that this season, however, and eight minutes later they were level. Moyes will have been annoyed at the simplicity and predictability of the equaliser, with Peter Crouch meeting an Alan Hutton cross at the far post and knocking it back across goal for Rafael van der Vaart to outjump Sylvain Distin and score.

Phil Neville then carried the ball past Gareth Bale on the right only for his cross to elude Jermaine Beckford in front of goal. Beckford had an even better chance midway through the first half, when a Saha flick reached him, but this time William Gallas just did enough to put him off and make him rush his shot, then he headed over from Neville’s cross following a mix-up between Michael Dawson and Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Despite these half chances it was the visitors who looked more likely to score again. Everton spent the final 15 minutes of the period unsuccessfully trying to break out of their own half as Spurs applied mounting pressure.

All they had to show for their efforts by the interval were two attempts from Van der Vaart, one an optimistic overhead shot and the other a free-kick from long range, though they should have taken the lead in the 44th minute when Crouch strayed offside before tucking away Bale’s cross.

In the early stages of the second half Gomes saved from Seamus Coleman when the young Irishman might have been better looking up to find Beckford and Steven Pienaar waiting in the middle. Bale departed just before the hour, shortly after being unceremoniously fouled by Phil Neville, the Everton captain’s late challenge after being beaten earning him a caution.

Both sides went close to scoring as the game entered its last half hour, Van der Vaart bringing a fine, punching save from Tim Howard at one end and Saha seeing a volley cleared off the line by Hutton at the other following an excellent run and cross from Coleman.

Now it was Everton doing most of the threatening and after Pienaar led a breakaway, Saha produced a shot from the edge of the area that had Gomes stretching. All he could do was beat it out, and from the rebound Coleman stooped to head his third goal of the season.

It was a deserved reward for a fine performance, though Spurs had almost scored on an isolated attack moments earlier. Van der Vaart shot when a Luka Modric cross unexpectedly reached him, only to be denied by an equally instinctive stop from Howard.

• Guardian Service

EVERTON:Howard, Neville, Distin, Heitinga, Baines, Coleman, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar (Osman 86), Saha (Rodwell 88), Beckford (Yakubu 77). Subs Not Used: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Anichebe. Booked: Neville.

TOTTENHAM:Gomes, Hutton, Dawson, Gallas, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon (Keane 80), Modric, Jenas, Bale (Kranjcar 58), Van der Vaart, Crouch. Subs Not Used: Pletikosa, Pavlyuchenko, Palacios, Bassong, Corluka.

Referee:Lee Probert (Wiltshire).