James McCarthy bagged his first Everton goal to fire the Toffees into a 1-0 half-time lead in their end-of-season trip away to Hull City today.

The Republic of Ireland international broke his 33-game duck in the ninth minute at the KC Stadium after receiving a Steven Naismith pass before thrashing past Allan McGregor.

Hull briefly threatened to restore parity as Sone Aluko blazed over the bar, while Naismith could have doubled the advantage after dragging his effort narrowly wide from a good position.

Tame attempts from Maynor Figueroa and Jake Livermore followed in the remaining minutes of the half, but the visitors held on to boast a slender advantage.