Everton and Portsmouth both came from behind to secure dramatic away wins at West Ham and Sunderland, while Jussi Jaskelainen's heroics helped Bolton scrape a narrow 1-0 victory against Hull City.
A superb strike by Jack Collison, on only his third appearance for the club, was not enough to give West Ham a home win over Everton, as Gianfranco Zola's men capitulated late on to lose 3-1 at Upton Park. Collison's first league goal looked to have ended the Hammers' miserable five-match winless run, as the 20-year-old despatched a fine, curling finish past Tim Howard on 63 minutes following excellent work by Craig Bellamy. But, after Howard twice denied the lively Freddie Sears, David Moyes' men came to life in the final seven minutes, thanks to Joleon Lescott's equaliser and two strikes by Louis Saha. The win brings Everton to within two points of sixth-placed Hull City.
Djibril Cissé's fourth goal of the season gave Sunderland a fourth-minute lead against Portsmouth but there was to be no fourth league win for the Black Cats as Tony Adams's side staged a late rally to earn their new manager his first win as Pompey manager. Cissé struck after racing on to Andy Reid's superb searching pass and rifling under David James from 16 yards and the hosts were dominant in the first half. James was forced into further saves from the menacing Cissé midway through the half and helpless to prevent Kieran Richardson's drive which came back off the far post. But for all their first half pressure, Pompey found a way back into the game six minutes after the restart when Nadir Belhadj beat Martin Pulop with a long-distance strike, following tidy approach play by Niko Kranjcar. The winner came in the last minute as El Hadji Djouf tripped Glen Johnson in the area and Jermain Defoe kept his cool from the penalty spot.
The tide appears to be turning for Hull, who suffered a 1-0 loss at resurgent Bolton. After a remarkable start to the season, notable for successive wins against Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham and West Brom, Phil Brown's men have now lost three matches in a row, Matt Taylor's second-half strike, and the reflexes of Jaaskelainen proving the difference between the two sides, as the Trotters moved out of the bottom three. In a close-fought contest Marlon King was unlucky to see his improvised back-flick hit the bar before the break, while Geovanni, on three occasions, King and Ian Ashbee were all denied by the irrepressible Jaaskelainen in the second half.
Earlier in the day, Samir Nasri's double breathed new life into Arsenal's title hopes with a thrilling 2-1 win against Manchester United, while Wigan were held to a goalless draw by Stoke City.
