Tim Cahill is congratulated by his team mates after scoring Everton's winner

By Les Roopanarine

Everton continued their resurgence to shade an evenly contested encounter against Wigan courtesy of an 84th-minute header from Tim Cahill.

Everton were denied a plausible first-half penalty claim when Latics defender Gary Caldwell upended Louis Saha.

Wigan contributed richly to a lively encounter, not least when Charles N'Zogbia hit the bar in injury time.

But by then Wigan had been undone by Cahill, who headed home with typical power from a Leighton Baines corner.

Everton's win, which extended their unbeaten league run to nine games, offered further evidence that their miserable start to the campaign is now very much a thing of the past.

Solid in every department, they showed enough quality to make it scarcely credible that they were only two points clear of the relegation zone as recently as early December.

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Ninth in the table with high-flying Birmingham firmly in their sights, the Toffees, on this evidence, are only a minor injection of creativity away from their very best.

Everton boss David Moyes will doubtless be hoping that Mikel Arteta, returning from long-term injury but absent here with a groin strain, can provide that additional impetus.

But in the Spanish playmaker's absence, Cahill, whose late goal was his third in as many games, continues to prove an able deputy.

Wigan, on the other hand, remain predictable only in their unpredictability.

The Latics began the afternoon with the odd record of having lost every other league game since a 4-0 defeat by Portsmouth in late October, a lack of consistency that has seen them steadily descend the Premier League table.

A second successive reverse, following Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Blackburn, finally broke the strange cycle, though not in the way manager Roberto Martinez would have wanted.

Yet there is unquestionable quality in the Wigan ranks, and with greater composure in front of goal they might well have consigned Everton to a first defeat of the year.

An entertaining first half, marginally shaded by the visitors courtesy of their more incisive passing and superior ability to build through midfield, delivered a steady flow of chances at either end.

A tame early effort from Leon Osman caused Vladimir Stojkovic more trouble than it ought to have done, setting the tone for an opening period in which the Wigan keeper would twice more be called into meaningful action.

Cahill's crisp close-range volley forced a fine sprawling save from Stojkovic, who then tipped over acrobatically as Saha headed firmly goalwards from Baines' measured left-wing centre.

As for Wigan, their first effort of note came when Jason Scotland's threaded pass found Hugo Rodallega, whose low shot was well saved by Tim Howard.

Scotland's contribution to that move was indicative of the Trinidad & Tobago man's vision and creativity, yet the striker was also twice guilty of blasting over from promising positions.

In an opening period full of what-might-have-beens, the stretching Rodallega came tantalisingly close to reaching a deflected Emmerson Boyce cross, while a Saha effort deflected off Cahill - who was subsequently ruled offside - and onto the post.

It was anyone's game, and Wigan survived a penalty shout when Caldwell fell into the back of Saha midway through the first half, a decision that left the Frenchman fuming.

The tussle continued in similar vein after the break, with no quarter given or asked, and with just under 15 minutes remaining Everton were again denied by referee Lee Probert.

Cahill capped a bustling run into the six-yard box by forcing the ball through to Marouane Fellaini, who prodded the ball over from a yard out only to be ruled offside.

The breakthrough finally came six minutes from time, when Cahill, running unaccompanied from deep, rose in typically gazelle-like fashion to power a header past Stojkovic from Baines' corner.

It was rough justice for Wigan, who had matched Everton virtually every step of the way, and N'Zogbia was unlucky not to make amends when he shuddered Howard's crossbar with a 25-yard pile-driver deep into injury time.

N'Zogbia will feel equally aggrieved at Probert's failure to award a second-half penalty when he was bundled over by Everton defender Johnny Heitinga.

Yet Probert's decision to award a free-kick for an incident that seemed to occur just outside the area looked sound, and while Wigan will be licking their wounds, Everton head into next weekend's Merseyside derby with their tails up.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez:

"It's disappointing - the players don't deserve it, they're really down and you can understand why.

"The performance was very good and the only thing missing was the goal.

"But we need to show the right reaction and the right character, and go into the next game with belief."

Everton boss David Moyes:

"Wigan made it hard, but I thought we did enough to win the game - it was just about deserved, I think.

"It could've gone either way, but I think a bit of resilience kicked in.

"We had a lot to contend with, but it says a lot that we stuck at it.

"Tim Cahill has always come up with important goals for us and he's done it again today."

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