Everton regain form as Vaughan makes his mark

English FA Premiership/ Everton 4 Crystal Palace 0: Everton's return to form was as emphatic as it was demoralising for Crystal Palace to endure.

A resounding victory has restored the four-point gap between the Merseyside rivals and, just as the unlikeliest of Champions League challenges appeared to be spluttering at the last, David Moyes's side have momentum again.

There was even a record to celebrate by the end. In converting Kevin Kilbane's low centre three minutes from time, James Vaughan, at 16 years and 271 days, became the Premiership's youngest ever goalscorer. The striker's appearance had already established him as Everton's youngest player, beating Joe Royle's record by 11 days. The goal also established him as the club's youngest scorer ahead of Wayne Rooney.

Ahead by the interval Everton tore into Palace's ragged underbelly immediately after half-time with Tim Cahill irrepressible. The visitors duly wilted.

Palace's attempts at defending were comical at best, excruciating at worst. Denied their best centre-half with Gonzalo Sorondo injured, the visitors' rearguard creaked horribly. They are also starting to pay for their goalkeeper's eccentricities.

Gabor Kiraly is capable of the brilliant but also the downright ludicrous. The Hungarian's improvised stop to deny Duncan Ferguson defied belief. Yet he might have been dismissed by then for handling outside his area seven minutes in and his bizarre, crouched stance as Mikel Arteta ambled up to take the free-kick undoubtedly encouraged the Spaniard to bend his shot into the top corner. The midfielder obliged and Everton led.

For a while Palace threatened to pluck parity with Alan Stubbs crocked and en route to hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder and Steve Watson struggling to cope as a makeshift centre-half. Tom Soares wasted their best chance, nodding Danny Granville's cross wide.

Marcus Bent provided the second, lifting a reverse pass over Powell for Cahill, running on to a bouncing ball, to pummel into the roof of the net. By the time Kilbane sprinted beyond Mikele Leigertwood and crossed for the Australian to nod into an empty net, Palace's resistance had disintegrated.

It was Cahill's 10th goal of his first season at this level. Palace could have done with a player capable of mustering that many goals from midfield, with Andy Johnson increasingly isolated up front.

Sandor Torghelle emerged from the bench to offer belated support but he could only side-foot against a post from Ben Watson's centre. When the busy Wayne Routledge drilled a similar attempt wide from Johnson's pull-back Palace were destined not to score in an away game for only the second time this term.

Guardian Service