Dwight McNeil’s goal after just 35 seconds was enough to give Everton another 1-0 win at Goodison Park on Saturday as Sean Dyche’s team climbed two points clear of the English Premier League relegation zone by ending Brentford’s long unbeaten run.
McNeil proved effective at both ends of the pitch as the winger’s third goal of the season was accompanied by a second-half goalline clearance.
Everton recorded a third victory by a single goal in four home games.
McNeil’s strike was Everton’s earliest winning goal in the ground’s 131-year history.
Dyche’s team then defended relentlessly as Brentford laid siege to the Everton goal in the second half as the visitor sought to keep alive its 12-game unbeaten league run stretching back to October.
Brentford’s club-record top-flight unbeaten streak of 14, set in 1936, was also ended by Everton at Goodison Park.
The win lifted Everton to 15th place, two points above the drop zone.
