Ross Barkley's header six minutes from time has earned Everton a 2-2 draw away at Hull City.

It appeared that Hull were on their way to a welcome three points thanks to Robert Snodgrass's 25-yard free kick, but they were to be denied by Barkley as Everton struck back for a deserved share of the spoils at the KCOM Stadium.

Hull went into the match having not scored for three games but they required just seven minutes to take the lead against the Merseyside outfit, who struggled to get going in the early stages.

A corner from the left was flicked on by Curtis Davies and Dawson was perfectly placed at the back post to volley into the net from six yards.

It took Everton until 12 minutes to register a shot on goal as Kevin Mirallas's deflected effort was fumbled wide of the post by Marshall, before Seamus Coleman headed against the post after meeting a cross from Gareth Barry.

Barkley then fired marginally wide from 14 yards out before Barry did the same from outside the box as Marshall was left beaten by his well-struck attempt from distance.

Back up the other end, Dieumerci Mbokani poked wide from eight yards but the forward was partly responsible for his team being pegged back with the final touch of the first half.

A corner from Mirallas should have been dealt with by Marshall but the Scottish stopper punched the ball into his own net as Mbokani tried to clear with his head.

After the restart, Everton made all of the early running with Marshall having to pull off an excellent one-handed save to tip a Romelu Lukaku effort onto the crossbar, before Mirallas and Barkley both failed to make the most of chances in and around the penalty area.

However, it was not long before Hull began to get themselves back into the match and Snodgrass was desperately unlucky not to find the top corner of the net, with his 30-yard free kick striking the angle of post and bar.

Dawson also missed the chance to net a second goal of the match when his half-volley at the back post was saved by Joel Robles, but they eventually regained their lead through a moment of brilliance from Snodgrass, who found the top corner with a free kick from 25 yards.

The goal rocked Everton and despite Ronald Koeman tinkering with his tactics, they struggled for a response against a Hull side who were aware of the importance of hanging on to all three points.

However, with six minutes remaining, the Toffees were back on level terms thanks to Barkley, who got above the Hull defence to head home a cross from Leighton Baines.

Just before the start of added-on time, Toffees youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have won the game for his team when meeting a cross from the right but he somehow headed wide from just eight yards out.

It turned out to be the final chance of a see-saw game and both sides will head into 2017 with a result that does little for their targets in the Premier League this season.