Fulham Manager Chris Coleman was furious with his side for conceding a goal at a set-piece to undo a lot of determined hard work to keep Everton at bay.

Coleman said: "I'm not disappointed with the effort or the performance because we had a real go at them, and Everton are a good team and they are not third for nothing.

"They have double the points we have and that's for a reason - because they are a good team. After losing to Chelsea last week we had to respond and face up to what Everton can throw at teams.

"But we did that for much of the time apart from losing concentration at one corner and conceding a goal.

"That's sloppy and it has happened too often to us this season.

"We defended against all their other set-pieces, but just knocked off once. And this league is so ruthless that players will instantly punish you and take advantage.

"If we lose concentration like that we will not make the best of what is coming up. We can beat anyone but we are capable of losing daft goals.

"The table doesn't lie and we are where we are because we keep conceding silly goals."

Coleman added: "We have just won at Newcastle but still are capable of stuff like this. We need consistency, it's as simple as that.

"We left Duncan Ferguson free in the box and if we do that we will lose points."

The Everton manager saw his side claim a 1-0 win over Fulham and close in on both Chelsea and Arsenal - the only teams ahead of them - in the Barclays Premiership.

The fact that Liverpool lost and are now nine points behind their Mersey rivals made the day even better for Evertonians.

Moyes said: "It doesn't matter how many you win games by as long as you do. It's another clean sheet and we are now just two behind Chelsea and four behind Arsenal.

"You have to give the players unbelievable credit for that at this time of the season. The victory was hard fought and we can play better but it was the ninth victory of the season and it took us a full campaign to achieve that last season.

"I can only thank everyone behind the scenes, plus Bill Kenwright and the board for all they have had to go through, plus all the fans with what they have had to endure.

"It is a great start to the season and now our aim is to stay there."

He added: "We are right amongst it but we are not saying what we will achieve. We are still aiming for that 40-point mark and when we get there we can look around and decide what it is possible to achieve.

"We are desperate to keep winning and we have a squad - not a big one - but one that is capable of playing different ways and keep picking up the points."