Everton came from two goals down to secure a dramatic 3-2 home victory over Watford and move out of the Premier League relegation zone, with ex-Toffees midfielder Tom Cleverley missing a last-gasp chance to level for the visitors from the penalty spot.
The Toffees looked set for a sixth successive defeat in all competitions, and fourth under caretaker manager David Unsworth, when Christian Kabasele's 64th-minute header put the visitors 2-0 up, adding to Richarlison's strike in the first minute of the second half.
Sky Bet offered the Toffees at 80/1 for victory in their in-play odds when faced with that massive task for victory.
Oumar Niasse's goal three minutes later dropped the price for an Everton win to 20/1, substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home an equaliser with 16 minutes to go and Leighton Baines subsequently converted a penalty in stoppage time to complete the turnaround.
The draw was short as 1/4 before Baines struck and Cleverley then had the opportunity to make it 3-3 in the 101st minute of the match but sent his spot-kick wide.
What was Everton's first win in nine matches saw them rise from 19th to 15th in the table and brought a much-needed dose of positivity ahead of the international break, in which the club's hierarchy are expected to make a decision on the permanent successor to the sacked Ronald Koeman.
What becomes of Unsworth, who would like the job full-time, remains to be seen but what is certain is that he will have taken great satisfaction from this, the first home match he has overseen since taking temporary charge, which was watched from the stands by major shareholder Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright.
Match reaction
Caretaker boss David Unsworth hailed Everton's "incredible spirit".
He said: "I'm just absolutely delighted for the club that we got the win.
"I didn't expect the second half to pan out quite like it did and there were mixed emotions, but there was an incredible spirit that this club lives and dies on.
"I'm proud of players and proud of fans. It was a much-needed win.
"We kept going, working and running and never gave in.
"Hopefully that can turn our season around."
Unsworth, who has made no secret of his desire to be the boss full-time, added: "Whoever gets the honour of being Everton manager, I will shake them by the hand and wish them all the best because I want this club to succeed and be flying high.
"If it is me, amazing. If it is not, then in terms of the experience, nobody will ever take that away from me."
Watford boss Marco Silva - someone to have been linked with the Everton job, along with the likes of Sam Allardyce and Sean Dyche - said after his ninth-placed side's third successive defeat: "This is really disappointing, for us and our fans.
"I think we did everything well until it was 2-1. We controlled until that moment. In that moment we gave one chance for the Everton players to believe again, and we started to be a little bit uncomfortable.
"I think this afternoon everything happened with our team."
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