Having gone behind to Tim Cahill's first-half header, Paul Konchesky's deflected shot levelled things up before Damien Duff struck 11 minutes from time.

"We showed a bit more courage in the second half, it was less a war of attrition and we scored two goals to turn the game around," he said.

"We have beaten a good Everton team today."

Hodgson was also pleased with Duff's contribution, including his first goal for the club since moving from Newcastle in the summer.

"Damien is a goalscorer and it's nice to have players like him and Clint Dempsey and Simon Davies who can support Andrew Johnson up front."

Captain Danny Murphy felt they deserved the victory - their first since the opening day of the season - based on their second-half performance.

"We just kept going and worked hard. The first half was very even but I thought we played with a better tempo in the second half, scoring two good goals," he told Sky Sports 1.

"It's nice to get another win under our belts, especially at the Cottage.

"It gives us a bit of breathing space and we can look forward with confidence instead of thinking we need a win."