Looking to bounce back from a painful defeat to Manchester United last week, it was Fulham who had the better of the opening exchanges, and they came close to taking the lead when a looping header from Sander Berge looked to be heading for the top left-hand corner, but Jake O’Brien was on hand to come up with a crucial headed clearance.
The Cottagers remained on top, and they took the lead six minutes later when Raúl Jiménez’s close-range effort was saved by Jordan Pickford, but the ball ricocheted off the unfortunate Vitalii Mykolenko and found the net.
The Mexican had a good chance to double his tally just after the half-hour mark, but his effort from inside the area went wide of the post.
After a below-par start, the Toffees battled their way back into the contest, and they almost drew level when the ball found its way to Harrison Armstrong inside the area, but his left-footed effort flew just wide.
The hosts were always a threat going forward, and they nearly doubled their advantage in style just before HT when Samuel Chukwueze’s long-range strike grazed the bar on its way over.
Having finished the first half in positive fashion, the visitors would have felt optimistic ahead of the restart despite trailing by a goal.
With their last-gasp equaliser at Brighton & Hove Albion last week still fresh in their minds, the Toffees knew they had the ability to recover on the road.
Before this game, only the PL’s top three had collected more home wins this season than Fulham, but their second-half display was a noticeable drop-off from a positive first half, and they were punished with 15 minutes remaining when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall turned home from Mykolenko’s cutback, with his first goal since December setting up a grandstand finish.
David Moyes’ side have drawn more league games than any other side since his first game back in charge, but they sensed an opportunity late on here.
A remarkable comeback was complete when Dewsbury-Hall’s corner was inadvertently directed into his own net by Bernd Leno when challenging O’Brien.
Everton held on for a huge victory that lifts them into seventh, while Fulham drop a place to 10th thanks to a second successive defeat, while they’ve now won one of the last 10 H2Hs on home turf.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (Everton)
