Valencia ends goal drought as Everton down Southampton

Substitute Enner Valencia scored his first Everton goal to break Southampton’s resolve and send the home side on their way to a 3-0 win at Goodison Park on Monday, with Leighton Baines and Romelu Lukaku also finding the net.

Valencia had not scored in the Premier League since getting two goals for West Ham United against Manchester City last January, but secured the breakthrough in the 73rd minute when he bundled home the rebound after Fraser Forster had saved Lukaku’s header.

Ronald Koeman’s side had struggled to find solutions to prise open his former employers but killed off the contest in the 81st minute when Baines beat Forster from the spot after Maya Yoshida clumsily brought down Lukaku.

Everton ran riot as Southampton crumbled and Lukaku signed off a dominant second half when he slammed an emphatic effort into the top corner from just inside the visitors’ box in the 89th minute.

The win keeps Everton in seventh on 30 points, six behind Manchester United who play later on Monday, while Southampton remain on 24 points.

Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion hit back from a goal down to beat Hull City 3-1 as second-half goals by Chris Brunt, Gareth McAuley and James Morrison piled on the misery for Mike Phelan’s struggling side.

Robert Snodgrass gave Hull the lead at the Hawthorns in the 21st minute, sliding in to volley Ahmed El Mohamady’s cross into the net and the Tigers were good value for their lead at the break.

But West Brom started the second half strongly and equalised four minutes in after sustained pressure yielded a corner which Brunt dispatched into the net with a powerful header.

McCauley struck in the 62nd minute, the referee ruling that his header had crossed the line before being cleared as Hull failed to deal with another set piece, and Morrison scuffed a left-footed shot home 11 minutes later.

Hull remained mired in the bottom three on 13 points while West Brom are eighth on 29 ahead of their trip to Tottenham Hotspur.

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