Hull City 3 – 2 Everton
Hull's Dawson (left) and Everton's Saha each scored for their sides
English Premier League News : Hull City held off an Everton fightback to earn a win which moves them level with their struggling opponents.
Stephen Hunt powered in a shot for the home side after Jozy Altidore’s effort had been parried by keeper Tim Howard.
Andy Dawson’s free-kick and a Dean Marney shot added to the lead but Hull’s Kamil Zayatte sliced a clearance into his own goal to give Everton hope.
Zayatte conceded a penalty which Louis Saha converted for the visitors but the Tigers clung on for victory.
Everton must have been on the end of a verbal bashing from manager David Moyes at half-time as they came out a different side after the break.
However, their efforts came too late to rescue a dire opening half as the home side were resolute enough to earn three points and leave the Toffees with only one win in 10 games.
Hull had gone into the match without Jimmy Bullard as boss Phil Brown decided to rest his star man so that the midfield playmaker could recover from a minor knock to his knee.
Bullard has had a major impact for the Tigers since his recovery from a lengthy spell out injured but Brown was taking the longer term view when leaving him out and the home side initially made light of his absence.
Hull went ahead after Everton defenders Sylvain Distin and Leighton Baines missed a deflected Hunt cross to allow Altidore to hammer a point-blank shot, which Howard did well to fend away.
But Hunt had drifted in from the left and, with the Toffees defence sleeping, pounced to lash in the loose ball from eight yards.
The goal lifted Hull, while having the reverse effect on the visitors and the Tigers capitalised by extending their lead through Dawson’s precise 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.
Everton had beaten Hull 4-0 at the KC Stadium in the Carling Cup earlier this season but were a different proposition this time around as they looked a team sapped of belief and confidence.
Too many of their passes were going astray, there was a lack of movement and, most unusually for the Merseysiders, they lacked fight.
A Baines corner was headed just over by Distin in a rare moment of threat from Everton but they soon found themselves further behind.
Distin inadvertently diverted a low cross to Marney and, symbolic of Everton’s fortunes, the Hull midfielder’s shot went in off Tim Cahill.
Everton belatedly showed the passion their play had been missing in the second half and they were rewarded when Zayatte swung at a Johnny Heitinga cross only to slice the ball into his own net.
Zayatte was also involved in Everton’s second goal as he was punished for a high challenge on Saha, who had expertly taken down a diagonal ball from Cahill in the box.
Saha dispatched the penalty with ease to set up a jittery finale for Hull.
Richard Garcia had a shot saved by Howard, while Cahill sent a long range strike over at the other end as more goals looked on the cards.
However, Hull had enough grit to hold Everton at arm’s length and notch their fourth home win of the Premier League season.
Source: English Premier League News, Hull, Everton at BBC Sport.