Everton's winning-streak continues

Everton 1 West Brom 0

David Moyes’ bandwagon rolls on with his reborn Everton now up into third place in the Premiership thanks to Tomasz Radzinski’s cracking first half strike.

Albion gave everything and fought to the last, but these days that is not enough to halt Everton.

They have now won their last six league games, their best run of victories since a spell during the 1986-87 season when they eventually won the title.

And their haul of 29 points from their first 15 games is only rivalled by the ’85 season, again when Everton went on to win the crown.

Whether they are championship potential is still very much open to doubt, but with Arsenal and Liverpool both losing, the gods are certainly smiling on Goodison Park for a change.

And the Everton fans have no intention of whispering the fact that they are just two points behind faltering Liverpool now with the Mersey derby less than a month away.

Everton sold out against the bottom club on the strength of their best run in years, with their bright, emerging young boss Moyes accepting plaudits from far and wide for his re-birth of the Blues.

Much of that success is due to Joseph Yobo at the back and Kevin Campbell up front - the pair were hugely prominent again - plus the running, organisation and energy of a side flirting with Europe now rather than their seasonal diet of relegation fighting.

It is all becoming much tougher for Albion. Former Everton star Gary Megson does not have the money or strength in depth to contemplate anything other than a bitter fight for survival. But he can take comfort in the fact that they still have bags of heart.

Albion may have produced the first shot on target after Sean Gregan caught Li Tie in possession and fed Scott Dobie, the striker’s 25-yarder being palmed away by Richard Wright after just 60 seconds.

But from then, Everton started to probe, mainly down the right flank involving the excellent young Tony Hibbert’s overlaps.

One such move swept back across the field from right to left and ended with Dave Unsworth’s low drive thudding into Russell Hoult’s chest.

Hoult, linked with an England cap, needed to move smartly to pull down a Lee Carsley effort and had to thank his full-back Igor Balis was a rescuing tackle that stopped Gary Naysmith close in.

Everton maintained their control of midfield and only Campbell’s backside kept out an Alan Stubbs header before Hoult produced a fine, leaping save to claw down a 25- yarder from Tomasz Radzinski.

Albion struggled as an attacking force, and only Andy Johnson’s run across the face of the box produced a shot on the turn to trouble Richard Wright.

Thomas Gravesen was at the heart of another flowing Everton move which ended with the ball reaching Hibbert, and his fine cross was nodded off the head of Radzinski by Moore at the last second.

But eventually all Everton’s hard work produced the goal they deserved when they finally took the lead on 35 minutes as Li Tie surged from his own half, won the ball and chipped it on for Radzinski, who laid it back to the charging Chinaman.

The next pass from the midfielder was outstanding, falling perfectly into the stride of Radzinski as he cruised into the box to smash a first-time right-footer high inside Hoult’s near post.

Six minutes into the second half Albion should have equalised when Johnson sent Jason Roberts clear in the box, only for the striker to delay his shot and allow Wright to get in the way, the ball actually bouncing back onto the Albion striker for a goal kick to rub salt in the wound.

Substitute Lee Hughes took over from the ineffective Dobie, and his pace worried Everton’s defence.

And Albion had their best spell, pressuring more in midfield, where former Tranmere star Jason Koumas soon arrived in place of full-back Balis to attempt to salvage something for the midlanders.

But Campbell missed from eight yards while Gregan almost headed an own goal with Hoult on the floor, such were the gaps being left.

It all became very frantic towards the end, and Hoult saved well when Radzinski was put clear, just as well as the striker looked well offside.

Li Tie was booked on 80 minutes for a heavy challenge on Clemence, and soon after Carsley threw himself in the way of a Gregan shot on the left of the box as Albion fought for an equaliser.

Clemence was booked for a foul on Hibbert, with Koumas next to be cautioned, for kicking the ball away from a free-kick, and Wayne Rooney was given the last five minutes as substitute for Campbell.