Everton 6 - Sunderland 2: Arouna Kone bags a hat-trick as Toffees demolish Black Cats

Arouna Kone celebrates after completing his hat-trick for Everton in a 6-2 win over Sunderland

AROUNA KONE scored his first Everton hat-trick as Roberto Martinez's men ran riot at Goodison Park.

 

Kone scored the Toffees second, fifth and sixth goals with further strikes from Gerard Delofeu, Romelu Lukaku and an own goal from Sebastian Coates helping Everton complete the rout. 

It was the Black Cats who orchestrated the first real chance of the game with Patrick van Aanholt almost putting Sam Allardyce's men into the lead after his left-footed effort hit a post. 

Van Aanholt's effort kicked Everton into gear as they began to stamp their authority onto the game and this paid off after 18 minutes when Deulofeu smashed his strike past a helpless Costel Pantilimon thanks to a Kone assist. 

The Toffees doubled their lead in the 30th minute as Kone went from provider to goalscorer when he lashed his effort into the top left corner. 

At this stage it looked as if there was no way back for Sunderland, but Jermain Defoe made sure they remained in touch with the hosts when he nestled his shot into the bottom left corner on the stroke of half time. 

 

Romelu Lukaku rounds Costel Pantilimon to score Everton's fourth goal

Defoe's goal gave Sunderland a much needed boost and they made full use of this momentum after the break as Steven Fletcher's 49th-minute header brought the score level. 

However, all of Sunderland's good work was undone minutes later when Sebastian Coates put the ball in his own net to gift Everton the lead once more. 

This setback saw the Black Cats capitulate as Everton scored a further two goals in the space of four minutes with Lukaku getting on the scoresheet with the fourth, while Kone stuck the knife in even further with his second and Everton's fifth of the game. 

But the Ivorian was not finished as he went onto register his first hat-trick for Everton with a precisely placed header from a Lukaku cross to mount further pressure on struggling Sunderland and new boss Allardyce.

This victory saw Martinez's men rise to 8th in the league while Sunderland remain 19th.