Romelu Lukaku scored his 50th Everton goal on his 100th appearance for the club to rescue a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace.
The Toffees dominated the vast majority of the second half, but all their hard work appeared to be undone when Scott Dann headed home 14 minutes from time.
After hitting the bar three times, Everton finally made the breakthrough late on to level things up through Lukaku, who profited from Gerard Deulofeu's smart play down the right.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded on Merseyside with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park. The final game of matchday 15 in the English top flight comes from Merseyside, as both sides aim to close in on a European berth.
Everton require a victory to climb up to sixth place, while the Eagles need just a point to do likewise thanks to a strong start to the season. With many sides at the top end of the table slipping up once more over the weekend, the chance is now there for these two teams to make up some further ground.
The incentive is certainly there for both Everton and Palace, then, knowing that a place inside the top six of the Premier League could be theirs come 10pm this evening. The team news has just been released at Goodison Park, so let's get straight to it by checking out how these sides line up.
TEAM NEWS!
EVERTON: Howard; Galloway, Funes Mori, Stones, Coleman; Barry, Cleverley; Kone, Deulofeu, Barkley; Lukaku
CRYSTAL PALACE: Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Jedinak, Cabaye; Puncheon, McArthur, Bolasie; Wickham
Starting with the visiting team, and there is a first Premier League start of the season for club captain Mile Jedinak. The midfielder has been linked with a move away from Selhurst Park over the past few days, but he is given a key role in the centre of the park in the only Palace change from last time out.
Suspended winger Wilfried Zaha is the man to make way, so there will be a little reshuffle made by boss Alan Pardew. Jason Puncheon and Yannick Bolasie will seemingly occupy the wide positions, while James McCarthur and Yohan Cabaye will start in a central midfield three alongside Jedinak. Connor Wickham, still without a Palace goal, is tasked with leading the line.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez has made two changes to this side from the midweek League Cup win over Middlesbrough, meanwhile, by bringing in Tim Howard and Arouna Kone. A few questions have been asked of the Toffees' American keeper, but Martinez is keen to retain faith in his number one and Joel Robles will therefore have to settle for a back-up role once again.
Leon Osman is the other Everton player to make way from last time out, meaning a place in attack for Arouna Kone who is likely to play just off Romelu Lukaku. The in-form striker has eight goals in his last eight games - it goes without saying that he is the man to watch this evening at Goodison Park.
BENCH WATCH!
EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Baines, Gibson, Osman, Mirallas, Lennon, Naismith
CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Speroni, Kelly, Mutch, Bamford, Campbell, Gayle, Chamakh
As well as being without Wilfried Zaha for tonight's clash, Palace will also have to make do without injured forward Bakary Sako. Dwight Gayle, Fraizer Campbell and Marouane Chamakh provide attacking options from the bench, while Jordon Mutch can bring fresh legs to the midfield area should they be required as the game wares on.
As far as Everton are concerned, James McCarthy has not recovered from the hip injury which also kept him out of the midweek cup tie, so Tom Cleverley will play a big role in midfield this evening. Leighton Baines made his recovery from injury in that one, and he is among the subs tonight as he is slowly integrated back into the first-team fold.
Everton make two changes from last time out, but there is no place in the starting lineup for Leighton Baines. Crystal Palace make just the one alteration, meanwhile, as Mile Jedinak comes in for his first league start of the campaign.
BREAKING NEWS! The third-round draw of the FA Cup is currently taking place in Cardiff, and both of tonight's sides have already been pulled out of the proverbial hat. Everton will play host to either Dagenham & Redbridge or non-league side Whitehawk, while Palace will travel south to face fellow Premier League side Southampton.
Enough about the FA Cup - tonight is all about Premier League points! Everton head into the game on the back of what would have felt like a defeat last time out in the league, having twice let slip a promising lead to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth. Despite the relative setback, it is now six games without defeat in all competitions heading into this match.
The Toffees also have a League Cup semi-final to look forward to in the new year, so things are certainly looking up at this moment in time following a rather mixed term last time out. Everton have not won back-to-back games all season in the league, though - something which will not change this evening due to that late sucker-punch on the South Coast nine days ago.
Everton have had a tough run of fixtures on the whole over the opening three months of the season, but their run looks for more promising between now and the new year. Leicester City is their toughest test on paper, yet Martinez will be confident of maintaining this push for a Europa League berth and potentially even better.
The irony in all this is that Everton have perhaps looked better this season due to their lack of European exploits this time around, but if they are going to continuing bettering themselves as a club then competing in the Europa League is something that they must aim for. It goes without saying that some silverware is long overdue at Goodison Park, too, so plenty for Martinez to focus on over these coming months.
I've already mentioned the goalscoring form of Lukaku, who now has eight goals in his last eight outings, but the Everton tally as a whole has also improved. The Toffees have 14 in their last four games in all, compared to just 13 in their 10 games prior. Feeding the big man up top will be the key this evening, but the Merseyside outfit also have others who can chip in.
DID YOU KNOW? Everton are unbeaten in their last 15 games staged on a Monday night in the Premier League. During that run they have won seven and drawn eight, meaning a difficult evening could be in for the visitors if recent history is anything to go by.
Palace head to Merseyside on the back of a promising run of form themselves, which has seen them collect 22 points from their 14 fixtures thus far. That is enough to put them in eighth place, just one point off the top six and a further six points off an unlikely Champions League berth. Alan Pardew will certainly not be getting ahead of himself, however, knowing that simply bettering last season's finish will be the main target.
Alan Pardew has worked wonders at Crystal Palace since taking on the job almost a year ago. The Eagles could end the night in sixth place should they pick up at least a point on Merseyside against an Everton side with an identical target in mind.
Palace actually remain the only team in the Premier League yet to have lost a single point from a leading position, winning all seven games in which they have edged in front. The message is simple - do not concede the first goal and you should be okay! Furthermore, only title challengers Arsenal have collected more points on their travels since Pardew officially took charge back in January.
It is fair to say that the Eagles have also become on of - if not the - most entertaining sides to watch in the Premier League in recent times. The 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle United last weekend went a long way to showing just how destructive the forward line can be when everyone is on song, but one of their key men is absent tonight as Zaha picked up a fifth yellow card in that win.
It has not been all perfect over the past few weeks for Palace, though, as we saw them fall to a hugely disappointed 1-0 defeat at home to strugglers Sunderland a fortnight ago. The Eagles were on top for large parts in that one, yet they struggled to create too many openings and were dealt a real blow late on when a breakdown in communication at the back allowed Jermain Defoe to tap home the only goal.
Like opponents Everton, Palace also have a favourable set of fixtures to take them through the remainder of this calendar year, with a string of mid-table sides to come over the next few weeks. Finishing inside the top seven of the Premier League is now a realistic target for Palace, who could become a real heavyweight in the not-too-distant future if the American takeover comes to fruition.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! This is a fixture that Palace have certainly come to love since their promotion back to the flight. In the last two seasons the Eagles have claimed a 3-2 victory here to continue an impressive overall run of just one defeat in four meetings with Everton. A similar outcome tonight will be enough to move them up a couple of places.
With kickoff at Goodison Park less than 10 minutes away now, it seems like a good time to gather the pre-match thoughts from both camps heading into this final game of matchday 15.
Roberto Martinez: "We have a large attacking threat and a very balanced squad, and I am pleased with the way we have coped with injuries - at one time we had five defenders out of the squad and as a team we always cope with everything which is thrown at us"
Alan Pardew: "Everton will be as tough as [Manchester] United. I think they're a good side, I really do. They're one of the in-form teams - them and Tottenham at the moment are two of the best teams in the division - so that's what we're coming up against."
Interesting comments made by Alan Pardew in the week in particular, who reiterated his hopes of one day taking charge of the England national side. Should the FA stick with a British-born coach post-Hodgson, then there is very few men better suited for the role than Palace's current boss. That is very much for the future, though, because right now he has a project of a different kind on his hands.
Both sets of players are now out on the field at Goodison Park, with kickoff just a few minutes away now. A really good atmosphere building around the stadium, largely because of what is at stake here tonight - a chance to claim a place in the top six for both. Let's just hope it lives up to the expectation!
Still time to check out the views of the Sports Mole Sofa team ahead of kickoff, who provide some interesting predictions for how they see this one panning out.
KICKOFF! Palace, in their changed predominantly-white strip, get us underway on Merseyside. An early searching ball from Dann is headed well clear.
SHOT! Wickham, still searching for his first Palace goal, gets in a shot on target inside the opening 60 seconds. It was a rather scuffed and weak attempt, but Howard initially spilled the ball when keeping it out before pouncing on the loose ball.
A teasing cross from the right is well defended by Funes Mori, who got a toe to the ball before Wickham could tap into the net. Solid start by the visitors, who have done well on recent trips here.
Just one point stands between these two sides, so it is no all that surprising to see such an open start to the contest really. Everton now the side on top, with Barkley curling a shot narrowly wide of goal following some nice link-up play with Lukaku.
Very high tempo to the match in these opening eight minutes, which surely won't last for the duration. I've already mentioned Palace's superb record when leading in matches, so the pressure is on the hosts to get at their opponents from the off.
Deulofeu just pulled off a fine piece of skill in the middle of the field, which just goes to show the type of confidence flowing through many of these Everton players at the moment. The Spaniard had a clean run through on goal with only one player to beat, but a heavy first touch let him down.
Plenty of promising moves for both of these sides to use as a platform to push on, then, in what has been a decent and well-balanced start to the game. Galloway having a really tough time of it up against Bolasie down Palace's right.
An umpteenth cross of the evening to date is right in the area you would want it to be if you are an attacking player, but Barry was there to get a powerful head to the ball. The Toffees need to find their rhythm again after being put on the back foot.
Both Everton full-backs know that this will probably be the toughest test of their season to date. Palace love occupying those wide positions, and so far the end product has been very good. Just nobody able to capitalise inside the box, as Jedinak becomes the latest to head wide.
SAVE! It is yet again a superb cross from Bolasie, this time from the left into a zone for one of his teammates to meet. Wickham got between two Everton defenders when sneaking in, making a solid connection with his head but aiming his shot right down the middle for Howard to keep out with his chest.
Everton have had some decent spells, the best of which culminated in Barkley curling wide at the end of a swift counter, but Palace have had the better of things so far. A couple of saves for Howard to make - one simple enough and the other a fine stop from Wickham's close-range header.
Deulofeu is looking the home side's best player so far, producing plenty of tricks and using his quick footwork to get into promising positions. Lukaku yet to really get on the ball inside the opposition box.
OFF THE POST! I said 60 seconds ago that Lukaku has yet to get on the ball in a dangerous area, well he has just shown what he is capable of when given some space to do so. The Belgian actually got a bit fortunate with a nice deflection, which allowed him to move to ball into a more central area and bend a shot towards the bottom-left corner. His strike came back off the inside of the post and right across the face off goal.
Kone is now played in at a tight angle inside the box, before blasting the ball wide of target. Everton now the side in control, with Palace unable to trouble their opponents since that Wickham header a little under 10 minutes ago. A real frenetic opening quarter to the match.
Still goalless at Goodison Park in front of an onlooking Wayne Rooney, but this has been far from a boring match thus far.
Currently in the midst of the quietest spell of the game, with neither side able to really show the attacking impetus we witnessed in the opening 25 minutes or so. Palace just knocking the ball around in midfield and defence at the moment.
Barkley starts a move that ends with Coleman sending in a cross into a central position. It was well defended by palace, with Barkley racing in ready to pounce. A second cross came in from the right which Galloway helped back into the middle of the box, but it was hooked away before Lukaku could get a telling touch.
That first goal still looks to be right on the horizon, and at this moment in time Everton look the more likely to find it. Palace still looking dangerous when they got on the ball in attacking areas, however, so the hosts are right to be wary.
Wickham guilty of just trying to force the issue, having perhaps grown a little frustrated by his lack of service over the last 15 minutes. Deulofeu gets a cross into the box which Hennessey is there to collect easily enough.
The half has certainly faded since that lively opening quarter. A theme has been developing over the last 15 minutes or so, with a brief quiet spell being followed up by some strong Everton pressure.
Still just the two shots on target so far, both of which came for the visitors inside the opening 18 minutes. Everton came the closest to making a breakthrough, however, as Lukaku's strike from the edge of the box came back off the post a short while ago.
A couple of Everton corners - taking their tally up to three overall for the half - are rather wasted. The first goes short and never arrives in the box, while the latest cross was overhit. Up the other end, Bolasie fires one well over with teammates better placed.
Jones landed a little awkwardly when jumping for that second corner, which sees him holding the back of his leg. A brief pause in play but he seems as though he will be fine to continue until at least half time. McCarthur fires a superbly struck volley a good few yards of goal from the next attacking move.
SHOT! A rarity here, as a ball lands nicely into Lukaku's feet inside the box. The Belgian turned and fired away from an angle, but his shot was blocked aside for a corner. The set piece was poorly dealt with, yet Barry failed to capitalise when sending a tame shot down the middle. Still, a shot on target for the hosts - their first!
Just the one minute to be added on at the end of this decent enough first half, which ends with a poor Stones pass being collected by Souare.
HALF TIME: EVERTON 0-0 CRYSTAL PALACE
So no goals in the opening 45 minutes at Goodison Park, then, but by no means the dullest half of football you will see. The opening quarter of the game was full of energy, with both sides really getting at each other, but neither could capitalise on their respective periods of dominance to ensure that we remain all squad at the break.
It took less than a minute for Wickham to get in the first shot on target, perhaps eager to make this the night that he finally opens his Palace account. That shot was far too weak to trouble Howard, who did initially fumble when making the save, but a better chance was to come 18 minutes in.
Palace had swung in countless crosses from both flanks, almost all of which Everton managed to deal with despite the fine quality. Wickham got himself between two opponents to get on the end of one Bolasie cross, however, which he headed pretty much straight at Howard from point-blank range. Not sure how much the American keeper knew about the save, yet he deserves credit for his positioning at the very least.
That Wickham header was followed by the game's first real quiet spell, but Lukaku then almost pounced when a lucky deflection landed nicely for him to bend a shot back off the post. The ball ran right across the face of goal, yet fortune was on Palace's side this time as it rolled to safety and not in off the other post.
Everton's only shot on target of the half arrived right on the brink of half time, as a poor clearance from a corner allowed Coleman to keep the attack alive, only for Barry's shot to end right down the middle for Hennessey to collect. So certainly bright moments for both sides to build on, then, which will hopefully provide us with an entertaining second half.
Stones picked up a little knock at the end of the first half, but he was okay to continue up until the interval. Injury issues aside, it is unlikely that either manager will make a change at the break.
EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Baines, Gibson, Osman, Mirallas, Lennon, Naismith
CRYSTAL PALACE SUBS: Speroni, Kelly, Mutch, Bamford, Campbell, Gayle, Chamakh
RESTART! Everton get us back underway at Goodison Park, winning themselves a corner less than 60 seconds into the half. The ball is cleared away easily enough, though.
Hennessey was alert to the danger and raced quickly off his line to thwart some Everton danger. The hosts looked the more pumped up for the second period with two quick-fire corners, but Palace have soon found their feet as well.
Lukaku and Kone show some more of their ability to link-up on the edge of the box, with the former laying off his teammate to strike one a yard or so over the bar. Promising start to this second half by Everton.
Cabaye sends a fine flicked pass into the box for Ward on to. Funes Mori was across really well to seemingly win his side a goal kick, but the referee had other ideas and awarded a corner which eventually came to little.
CLOSE! Palace are the counter-attacking specialists in this division, but Everton spring a quick break of their own here. Kone fails with his initial pass into Barkley who was in space, though the ball came back to him and he was able to pick out his teammate at the second attempt. Certainly not an easy chance, however, with Barkley glancing the ball narrowly wide in the end.
YELLOW CARD! Connor Wickham is shown the first caution of the night for backing into John Stones.
SAVE! The open feel to the game is back once more, which Bolasie nearly makes the most of when running into a lot of space. He got the better of his man and fired a shot across goal, but Howard did well to keep it out with his legs.
Deulofeu is very much the go-to man at the moment for Everton, with the Barcelona product producing a couple of really good deliveries from out on the right. The first deflects onto the roof of the net, while the latest was well defended by Dann.
OFF THE BAR! Wickham so close to opening his Palace account - at the wrong end! Barkley's free kick followed the theme of the night with the superb deliveries continuing. Wickham just flicked the ball on to help it on its way off the crossbar.
EVERTON SUB! Moments after an Everton penalty shout for handball was turned down, Martinez made his first alteration of the evening. Baines is being slowly integrated back into first-team action, replacing Galloway with a little over an hour played.
SAVE! Bamford, Chamakh, Campbell and Gayle are all watching on as this goalless affair wares on. Pardew must surely be tempted to change things around soon, as Cleverley's sweetly-struck volley from the edge of the box is helped over by Hennessey.
SHOT! Deulofeu and Barkley both have the chance to pull the trigger inside the box, but Palace throw all they have at the ball as they continue to hold on. This is by far Everton's best spell of the match, which will surely spark some action on the Palace bench. The Toffees' latest attack ends with Cleverley sending a far tamer effort than the one we saw a few minutes ago right down the middle.
Just wave after wave of Everton attack now, as it has been for the past 10 or 15 minutes, yet there is no way through. For all their efforts, it only takes one Palace counter and all of a sudden the complexion of the game changes completely.
Still no way through for Everton, and still no sign of a Palace sub! Still plenty of attacking players warming up on the sidelines, but they are being made to wait for a run-out on Merseyside.
Romelu Lukaku goes past Yohan Cabaye during the first half of this goalless affair. Everton have looked the more likely to score since the restart, with two shots on target over the last 10 minutes.
SAVE! Palace's gameplan is very clear to see - soak up the pressure and spring a counter. They have been under the cosh for a good 15 minutes or so now, but this is pretty much as close as we have come to a breakthrough. Cabaye's smart work allowed Puncheon to get a firm shot on goal, which Howard did very well to help over the bar.
GOAL! EVERTON 0-1 CRYSTAL PALACE (SCOTT DANN)
The former Liverpool season ticket holder, who scored a late winner at Anfield last month, has just popped up with another key goal across Stanley Park. From the corner Dann powered home a header past a helpless Howard, who had pulled off a fine save just a few moments prior to deny Puncheon.
OFF THE BAR! For the third time this evening Everton strike the frame of the goal. Lukaku latched on to a loose ball on the edge of the box and let leash on the half-volley, sending an attempt back off the underside of the bar. Hennessey may have got the smallest of touches to the ball.
Really not quite sure how Everton have yet to score, but credit to Palace for pouncing on a rare opening in this second half. As things stand they will climb up to sixth place, yet there is still plenty of defending to do over the next nine minutes.
GOAL! EVERTON 1-1 CRYSTAL PALACE (ROMELU LUKAKU)
Deulofeu is given absolute acres down the right-hand side and is able to send the ball right across the face of goal. Lukaku has struck the post and the crossbar so far tonight, but he was never going to miss this tap-in from a couple of yards out. That is now 50 goals for the Belgian in 100 appearances for the club.
Palace, remember, have yet to lose a game in which they have taken the lead this season. Seven times they have found themselves in a winning position and seven times they have gone on to claim all three points. That looks like it will end at Goodison Park this evening.
Yet again Palace spring a quick break, which is led by Bolasie. Gayle, who came on with Mutch in the time between Palace scoring and Everton equalising, plays a nice return ball but the winger sees his shot blocked inside the box. What a climax to this game we are in for!
YELLOW CARD! A wild challenge by James McCarthur sees the Palace midfielder earn a yellow. Funes Mori challenged Mutch up the other end, but the referee felt that he had won the ball on the edge of the area.
YELLOW CARD! Funes Mori now enters the referee's book, as we enter the final stages of this match. Palace have scored more late goals than any other side this season...
Barkley sorts his feet quickly and fires in a shot that is deflected away. Barry then tries his luck but is met with a similar situation, as he is quickly closed down. Two more minutes of added time to come.
A really good chance for Mutch is wasted, as he drags a shot wide of goal after winning the ball in midfield. He had fellow substitute Gayle in a better position to his right.
Lukaku thinks he's in, but McCarthur did brilliantly to win the ball off the Belgian just before he could get a true sight of goal. Palace now seem happy to see this out for a point.
FULL TIME: EVERTON 1-1 CRYSTAL PALACE
The full-time whistle sounds at Goodison Park, meaning that the sides have to settle for a point apiece. Everton climb into the top half as a result, while Palace are up to sixth. The Toffees will be frustrated not to have claimed all three points, and they certainly did enough to warrant a win, but having fallen behind late on a draw is not exactly the worst outcome.
It was a superb game of football from start to finish, bar a little lull in the final 15 minutes of the first half. Palace were relying heavily on counter-attacking, which paid dividends 14 minutes from time when Liverpool fan Scott Dann popped up from a corner - won after Yannick Bolasie had come close at the end of a swift break - to head the Eagles in front.
Everton continued to knock on the door, though, hitting the frame of the goal for the third time before Romelu Lukaku finally levelled things up inside the final 10 minutes. A great game of football, which ends all squad at Goodison Park. Thanks for joining us here on Sports Mole - stick around for plenty of reaction across the next hour or so.
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Premier League Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| 2 | Manchester CityMan City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 19 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| 10 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Brentford | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 15 |
| 15 | Everton | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 11 |
| 16 | Leicester CityLeicester | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 10 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 9 |
| 18 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 12 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 9 |
| 19 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
| 20 | Southampton | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 4 |
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