Stoke City 2 Everton 3:Tim Cahill celebrated his return to Everton's starting line-up with the winning goal as they beat Stoke 3-2 in a thrilling Barclays Premier League encounter at the Britannia Stadium.
Cahill had yet to feature this season as he had been sidelined by the broken metatarsal that kept him out for much of the last campaign but he marked his surprise inclusion by striking the decisive blow, heading home Mikel Arteta's corner in the 76th minute.
Everton had taken a two-goal lead with strikes from Ayegbeni Yakubu and Victor Anichebe either side of half-time before Stoke fought back and restored parity through Seyi Olofinjana and Phil Jagielka's own goal.
Everton manager David Moyes will be looking for an apology from referee Alan Wiley if the official is wrong over a disputed penalty.
With the teams level at 2-2, Leon Cort appeared to handle in the box when under pressure from Yakubu in the 74th minute.
But when Moyes protested about Wiley's decision to award a free-kick outside the area the Everton boss was sent to the stands.
He told Sky Sports 1: "The referee pointed to the spot and where I was standing he (Cort) was two yards inside (the box when he handled).
"If I was wrong I would apologise to him and if he was wrong I would expect the same," Moyes said. "It was really tough, just what you would expect from Stoke. It was a good afternoon to get three points.''
Both sides were in the bottom three at the beginning of play but Toffees have now moved above champions Manchester United and into 10th behind Portsmouth on goal difference.
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