City stunned by stand-in Cahill: Man City 0, Everton 1

Everton manager David Moyes lauded his team for a ``fabulous performance’’ after Tim Cahill’s stoppage-time winner against Manchester City at Eastlands.

Drafted in as an emergency striker, Cahill climbed above Micah Richards to head in a corner from Leon Osman .

With Victor Anichebe ruled out hours before kick-off with a back injury, Moyes had no recognised forwards to call on.

They also went into the match on the back of a home defeat late on Monday against Aston Villa.

Moyes could not contain his delight at the way they responded.

He said: ``I thought it was a fabulous performance and result. If ever a team and its character was going to be judged it was today after the defeat (by Villa).

“We have a group who always want to play. They play when they are injured and play out of position. They get on with it and it is great when you have a group like that.

``We didn’t have it all our own way at times in the second half but we were resilient and made it hard for them to get through.

``If it had finished 0-0 I would probably have been disappointed as we always looked a threat.’’

Former Standard Liege midfielder Marouane Fellaini supported Cahill while Mikel Arteta pulled the strings in the centre of the park.

Moyes said: ``Fellaini was a big influence. I think they found him difficult to deal with.

``He showed composure on the ball and was a threat physically. He looks as though he has a goal in him. He can go box to box and is doing really well.

``Arteta was terrific. We know all about his skill but he did it all, he defended when he had to and stayed with them.’’

Everton have won four out of their last five away games and Moyes added: “Winning away gives us a chance. If we can put it right at Goodison, we can still have a good season.’’

In contrast, City remain too close to the relegation zone for comfort.

But manager Mark Hughes believes they can regroup in the coming weeks when they face West Brom, Hull and Blackburn.

He said: ``Ideally we would have preferred three more points but we have games coming up where we need to start putting points on the board.

``We can’t dwell on it too much. We have got to get on with it with Christmas coming up.’’

Hughes was disappointed with the manner of the defeat.

He added: ``To lose at the end is disappointing. We need to be better in those situations.

“We just switched off and they capitalised on that.”