Everton 3 Tottenham 1Everton will breathe easier this morning. Some seven years since their only previous Premiership win over Tottenham, this was a much-needed and richly deserved victory which has prised more distance between them and the relegation cut-off.
That the trio of goals which propelled them above Spurs to a perch bordering on the lofty were shared by defenders merely added to the sense of satisfaction. At Newcastle almost a week earlier, David Moyes had been so disgusted with his back line's embarrassing shortcomings he made his frustrations public.
On the evidence of their riotous display here, this encounter signalled a belated and timely recovery which could yet drag Tottenham into trouble.
So rampant were Everton that the Londoners had been reduced to gibbering wrecks by the break. James McFadden, relishing an opportunity in the absence of the suspended Wayne Rooney, tore his markers to shreds, feeding off the dynamism provided by Thomas Gravesen in the centre. The Dane was having one of his more focused and productive days, eclipsing Michael Brown and Jamie Redknapp and drawing a succession of free-kicks.
The midfielder was instrumental in all Everton's first-half plunder. His exchange with Gary Naysmith at a corner allowed Gravesen to cross, Steve Watson to flick, and David Unsworth to poke home via Kasey Keller's attempt to save. The centre-half had been hovering unnoticed at the far post to sum up Spurs's slapdash approach.
Everton's only previous victory over these opponents in the Premiership had been seven years ago. When the hapless Gary Doherty tripped McFadden for Naysmith, resisting Gravesen's barks to leave the free-kick, to curl it beyond Keller, the curse was en route to being lifted.
Gravesen and Kevin Kilbane, forcing Doherty to clear a looping header from the line, might have added a third before Joseph Yobo did. The Nigerian emerged from a scrum in the six-yard box, after the Dane's deflected free-kick was parried to tap into the empty net.
Given that the best David Pleat's side had mustered was a weak shot from Jermain Defoe, too often ostracised by Robbie Keane's unwillingness to look up from his dribbles, their frustration was understandable. Frédéric Kanouté's arrival should have offered more urgency, but there was little here to check Everton's resurgence.
The Frenchman was languid and it took the substitute Rohan Ricketts's run and pass to Stephen Carr to prise Everton open, the full-back scuffing his shot across Nigel Martyn and in.
If a first goal from one of their own in 526 minutes had suggested a comeback, the Irishman's dismissal for a second bookable offence within two minutes of his goal abruptly checked the revival. Instead, Spurs departed with what they truly deserved.
EVERTON : Martyn, Pistone, Yobo, Unsworth, Naysmith, Watson,Gravesen (Carsley, 88), Linderoth, Kilbane, McFadden (Jeffers, 79), Radzinski. Subs Not Used: Wright, Nyarko, Hibbert. Goals: Unsworth 17, Naysmith 24, Yobo 40
TOTTENHAM : Keller, Carr, Doherty, Gardner, Ziege , ht), Davies (Ricketts, 72), Brown, Redknapp (Bunjevcevic, 72), Kelly, Keane, Defoe. Subs Not Used: Jackson, Hirschfeld. Booked: Redknapp, Doherty, Carr. Sent off: Carr. Goal: Carr 75.
Referee: R Styles (Hampshire)
Guardian Service
