Hull City 3 - 2 Everton

Tigers hold on to secure vital victory

Updated: November 26, 2009, 8:54 AM UK

Hull held off an Everton fightback to continue their recent resurgence with a remarkable win at the KC Stadium.

The struggling Tigers raced into a 3-0 lead with goals from Stephen Hunt, Andy Dawson and Dean Marney inside the opening half-hour of a thrilling Premier League clash. But Kamil Zayatte gifted Everton a route back into the game in the second half as he scored at the wrong end and then conceded a penalty which Louis Saha converted.

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Everton then pressed in a nervous finale but Hull held on to move level on points with David Moyes' side. It made for a miserable night for the Toffees as news filtered through that their plans for a new stadium had been rejected by the government.

Everton have now won just once in their last seven league games and morale must be as low as Liverpool's ahead of Sunday's Merseyside derby.

Hull took time to find their rhythm in the absence of their talisman Jimmy Bullard. The £5 million midfielder was the catalyst for the Tigers' recent encouraging results against Stoke and West Ham and his failure to even make the bench seemed a big blow. Both sides looked nervous in the opening minutes and Zayatte - in a prelude to his later gaffe - needed two attempts to clear a Leighton Baines cross after miskicking.

But it was Everton who looked the shakier at the back and Hull set the tone for the first half as they broke forward to take a ninth-minute lead.

Geovanni, looking hungry after a suspension and then being left out for Saturday's draw against West Ham, pegged the visitors back by combining well with Hunt on the left. The Irishman's cross then took a big deflection off Joseph Yobo but Tim Howard reacted well to save at point-blank range as Jozy Altidore controlled and hit a fierce shot.

The danger was still not clear and Hunt was the first to react, racing in to blast home his third of the season from six yards. Hull were invigorated and dominated the rest of the first half. Geovanni shot at Howard from long range soon after and the hosts then doubled their advantage on 20 minutes after Yobo fouled Zayatte on the edge of the area.

Left-back Dawson stepped up to curl a superb free-kick over the wall and into the top corner. Everton almost pulled one back instantly as Sylvain Distin met a Baines corner with a powerful header but it flew just over the bar.

That proved a rare foray forward for the Toffees, who were caught out by another Hull break just before the half-hour. Baines failed to stop the rampant Hunt crossing from the right and the first of two fortunate deflections in quick succession diverted the ball into Marney's path.

The midfielder struck his shot first time but Howard was wrong-footed as the ball flew in off Tim Cahill. It almost got worse for Everton before the break as Altidore created a shooting opportunity with a strong run but shot over.

The tone of the game changed within four minutes of the restart as Everton were gifted a goal back. Repeating his fluffed clearance from the opening minutes of the game, Zayatte this time sliced John Heitinga's cross and the ball spun over Matt Duke into the Hull goal.

Hull almost caught Everton on the break in search of a fourth as Hunt and then Geovanni surged forward but the Brazilian was unable to pick out Altidore. Everton made the most of that reprieve to launch a long ball forward and claim a crucial penalty after 64 minutes.

Zayatte was again the guilty party with a clumsy challenge on Saha and the Frenchman stepped up to convert from the spot.

Despite the double setback, Hull still refused to sit back and Howard saved well from Richard Garcia's fierce left-foot drive.

It looked like the game could go either way as Cahill blasted over and Duke anxiously grabbed the ball in a goalmouth scramble.

Hull looked shaky in the closing minutes and Geovanni did his best to waste time by walking off slowly when he was replaced by Kevin Kilbane. A late free-kick outside the area gave Everton a final opportunity but Baines shot into the wall.

Moyes shrugs off quit talk

Everton boss David Moyes batted off a suggestion he contemplating quitting after defeat at Hull.

When asked in the post-match press conference if he was aware of a rumour on Merseyside that he was preparing to stand down, the Scot turned the question back on his inquisitor.

"Do you live on Merseyside?'' he asked back. When asked if he was prepared to comment on the rumour, he flatly said: "No.''

Another question concerned the club's position in the table, 14th, four points above the bottom three. Moyes was asked if he was worried Everton could become embroiled in a survival battle, and he replied: "Could be, yes.''

Moyes would also not comment on news filtering through that the club have failed to secure permission to build a new stadium.

Moyes added: "We didn't play well enough to win, that sums it up really. I don't think it was anything to do with confidence, it was to do with endeavour and attitude, which Hull City showed. If we had matched Hull's endeavour and attitude - they ran around and it earned them something at the end of the night. A team should fight from the first minute, not the 45th.''

Phil Brown said: "I think it was a deserved win, even though Everton scored two goals in the second half. People might have been nervous at 3-2 but I wasn't unduly worried, I thought we still had a grip on the game.

"Collectively defensively we were very good in the first half. The second half was a different ball game and an own goal unhinges you to a certain extent. But we stuck at the task and thoroughly deserved the victory.''

Brown said of Jimmy Bullard's absence: "The lad's in a new area of his rehabilitation. It was just a precautionary resting and fortunately it has worked for everybody. It now gives me a bit of a headache for Saturday, but they are the kind of headaches you want.''