Teenager Dan Gosling scored deep into extra-time to give Everton a 1-0 win over city rivals Liverpool in their FA Cup fourth-round replay on Wednesday.
The Merseyside neighbours, who had already shared two draws in just over a fortnight, were locked in another stalemate at 0-0 at the end of normal time after a physical game of few chances.
Playing with an extra man after Lucas Leiva’s dismissal for a second yellow card in the 76th minute, Everton were rewarded for their livelier play when Gosling’s shot went in off the post in the 118th minute.
Liverpool’s night was further blemished by an injury to their captain, Steven Gerrard, who left the field after a quarter of an hour with a left hamstring problem.
With Everton still playing without a recognised striker and Liverpool forward Fernando Torres looking out of sorts, goalkeepers Pepe Reina and Tim Howard had little to do for most of a scrappy match.
The best chance in normal time came midway through the second half when Everton midfielder Leon Osman thundered a shot off the right-hand post.
Everton had several chances in extra time — Tim Cahill went just wide with a header and Osman forced a good save from Reina before 19-year-old midfielder Gosling stole the headlines and set up a fifth-round tie against Aston Villa.
Blackburn through
In another all top-division encounter, Blackburn Rovers got the better of Sunderland with a 2-1 extra-time win.
Blackburn’s Aaron Mokoena cancelled out David Healy’s early goal, sending the match into extra time at 1-1. South African Benni McCarthy avoided the need for penalties with a header in the 117th minute.
Villa scored twice in four minutes midway through the first half before running out 3-1 winners at home to Championship (second division) Doncaster Rovers in their third-round replay.
Steve Sidwell and John Carew put the Premier League side ahead before Doncaster pulled one back in first-half stoppage time through Jason Price. Villa made sure of victory with Nathan Delfouneso’s diving header in the 61st minute.
In the day’s all-Championship replay, Derby County came back from two goals down to beat near neighbours Nottingham Forest 3-2 and earn themselves a plum fifth-round meeting with Premier League champions Manchester United.
Forest scored twice in the first 15 minutes through Chris Cohen and Nathan Tyson from the penalty spot, before headers from Rob Hulse and Paul Green put Derby level.
The visitors then snatched victory with an excellent long-range effort from former Forest winger Kris Commons. — Reuters