Sean Dyche may have bemoaned Everton’s quiet January fixture list before this tie.
But the Toffees boss will not be overly enthused by the prospect of a replay against Crystal Palace after neither side could find a goal at Selhurst Park last night.
And to compound matters Everton saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin shown a harsh red card, for a challenge on Nathaniel Clyne, before Dwight McNeil was stretchered off late on after landing awkwardly when defending a corner.
Calvert-Lewin may have only grazed Clyne before winning the ball, but the height of the Everton forward’s boot was deemed dangerous by referee Chris Kavanagh following a VAR check - after he initially did not even give a foul.
It proved the only moment of drama on a dour night and Dyche’s evening was made worse by winger McNeil being carried off with an ankle injury.
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Dyche was initially unsure if Everton will appeal Calvert-Lewin’s dismissal, which will carry a three-game ban, and he bemoaned the manner in which the replays were slowed down because it made the tackle seem worse.
“An appeal is a risk-reward thing, is it worth it?” Dyche said. “It’s peculiar - if you slow anything of that nature down it looks worse.
“I’m a fan of VAR. We’re all aware it needs tidying up but it seems to have stepped back a little. I’m still a fan but it’s beginning to test my patience.”
Palace, wearing a one-off blue strip to raise money for the club’s charity, registered the first shot on goal when Jeffrey Schlupp failed to threaten from range.
Yet it was Everton who controlled early proceedings, with Arnaut Danjuma twice turning Clyne inside out down the left wing.
And the winger had a left-footed drive turned over the bar by Dean Henderson in the 20th minute following a swift counterattack involving Jack Harrison.
That would be the only attempt on target in an opening period where both teams displayed plenty of intent only to lack the quality to cause damage.
Brazilian teenager Matheus Franca, making a first start, provided a taste of what Roy Hodgson hopes he can produce consistently when he cut in from the right only to be met with a crunching challenge from James Tarkowski.
But Eberechi Eze drove the free kick in prime position miles over while Jefferson Lerma flashed wide soon after.
Everton keeper Joao Virginia was finally called into action five minutes after the interval by getting a strong hand in front of an Eze strike, before claiming a Lerma header from the ensuing corner.
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton (L) speaks with Match Referee, Chris Kavanagh after receiving a red card (2024 Getty Images)The visitors forced a couple of corners but, aside from an off-target header by Onana, their attack was blunt.
Palace’s problem was that theirs was even blunter and an injury-time effort from Eze saved by Virginia was the hosts’ only moment of late excitement.
Hodgson, who had “sympathy” for Everton over the red card, said: “A replay was the last thing either of us wanted. We both put the effort in and were difficult to break down. Neither of us could produce a moment of magic.”
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