Is luck starting to turn for Liverpool after derby win?

Everton 0 Liverpool 2. Only time will tell if yesterday's derby win over Everton will prove to be another false dawn for Liverpool, but Rafa Benitez will be thinking that his luck might be finally turning. His side put in a performance of little inspiration and found themselves on the back foot for much of the game, but still managed to walk away with all three points for the first Premier League game in more than a month.

For Everton boss David Moyes, also under fire as his under-performing and injury-struck have slumped to 16th in the table after finishing last season in fifth spot, the commitment of his team and their domination of the game for long spells will mean nothing. The Goodison Park outfit have only won once in 11 games and soon questions will begin to be asked of the Scot's managerial skills.

Liverpool were yet again without Fernando Torres, David Ngog deputising for the injured Spanish striker, but the first goal came from a midfielder. The robust Argentine Javier Mascherano shot from 25 yards out and was fortunate to see his effort deflected past Tim Howard in the hosts' goal defender Joseph Yobo. Everton fought back after the goal, and tested the excellent Pepe Reina frequently, but will rue the chances that went begging.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov could have restored parity minutes after Liverpool took the lead but put his shot wide from close in when he only had Reina to beat. Brazilian striker Jo had the ball past the Liverpool stopper on a couple of occasions but was rightly ruled offside both times, only fractionally so for one effort. Emiliano Insua almost made it two for Liverpool on a rare break upfield, when he headed for goal on 40 minutes only to see Howard make a sharp save.

The second half saw the home pressure continue, but through a combination of bloody-mindedness and good fortune Liverpool held onto their lead. Reina fumbled a shot from Steven Pienaar on the hour mark, but recovered to scoop the ball off the line. And the stand-out moment of the match came with just 20 minutes to go, when the Spanish international keeper made a double save from Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini. Ten minutes later Dirk Kuyt swooped to put in Albert Riera's rebounded shot to make the agony complete for the blue half of Liverpool.

"Derbies are always difficult and important and to win could be a boost for the rest of the season," the Liverpool manager told reporters. "We are higher in the table now and we will see if we can keep winning. This could be a turning point." For Moyes it was a tale of woe. "Until they made it 2-0 I can't remember them having a single other chance, apart from one header in the first half," he said. "The players worked extremely hard and I thought they deserved more.