REDS RIDE THEIR LUCK TO WIN THE DERBY

LIVERPOOL took the points and ended a dismal run of form in the league but Everton emerged with plenty of credit, particularly for their first-half performance.

David Moyes and Rafa Benitez were both under pressure going into this derby but a strange game was settled on the back of two errors by Joseph Yobo.

The defender's all-round game was pretty good but he diverted Javier Mascherano's hopeful shot past Tim Howard on 12 minutes and then miskicked in his own area 10 minutes from time in the build-up to Dirk Kuyt's clincher.

Everton will wonder quite how they failed to at least get a goal - Jo had two disallowed on his own and Pepe Reina made an astonishing double save to thwart Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini.

Captain Steven Gerrard issued a pre-match rallying cry to his team-mates on the pitch but Everton set the tone early on with Cahill clattering Mascherano and the hosts consistently snapped into the tackle.

There appeared no danger when Mascherano, hardly the best shooter in the league, picked up an Emiliano Insua pass and chanced his arm. The shot wouldn't have troubled Howard but Yobo stuck out a boot to divert it past the American keeper.

The dejected Toffees lifted themselves but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov miskicked at the far post after three flick-ons, the last one from Jamie Carragher. An overhead kick by the Russian then clipped off Jo and saw Reina fumble but Glen Johnson was first to the rebound to clear.

Jo found the net on 33 minutes but was marginally offside and, after Howard spectacularly tipped away an Insua header from Johnson's cross, the Brazilian beat Reina again from close range but was clearly in an illegal position in front of the keeper.

Everton were cheered off from their appreciative fans but they struggled to keep the tempo up after the break.

KISS: Mascherano enjoys the opener

Fellaini felt Carragher fouled him inside the box but Alan Wiley waved 'play on' and Reina suffered a let-off when dropping a Steven Pienaar shot but seeing it stick in the mud between his legs.

Always in the thick of things, Fellaini caught Lucas with his elbow to draw blood from the young Brazilian but Liverpool gained more of a foothold in the match with David Ngog's shot blocked by Yobo after Kuyt did superbly to beat Leighton Baines.

When Reina dived to keep out Cahill's header, a goal seemed certain as time stood still. Everybody appeared to be watching as Fellaini picked up the rebound but he could only drill his shot against Reina, whose intervention was to prove crucial.

It was outstanding stuff from the Spanish keeper and it proved the turning point.

When Yobo scuffed his clearance inside his own area, Gerrard slid in to knock the ball back to sub Albert Riera and the shot forced a save out of Howard. Unlike on a couple of occasions involving Reina, the Toffees keeper was unlucky as he palmed the ball straight to Kuyt who wrapped up the points.

Howard denied Riera with his legs late on as the visiting fans sang 'going down' to their neighbours. Not on this evidence.

• HANDS OFF JAVIER MASCHERANO

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