Everton held on for a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup, despite going down to 10 men when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sent off in the second half. (More Football News)
The Premier League teams will meet again in a replay at Goodison Park to determine who advances to the next round.
Palace may regret missing the chance to take advantage after Calvert-Lewin's contentious red card in the 79th minute at Selhurst Park for a foul on Nathanial Clyne.
Everton's away fans were left incensed after VAR invited referee Chris Kavanagh to review what had appeared to be an innocuous challenge. After viewing the sideline monitor, the official opted to send off the England striker.
“The slow motion shows a different picture. If you want to slow-mo everything, you have to slow-mo everything,” Everton manager Sean Dyche said. "There's minor contact. In live time he doesn't give anything, then they slow it down and everything looks worse slow.”
Palace had a chance to win the game in stoppage time when Eberechi Eze lashed a shot from the edge of the area that was headed for the bottom corner and required a diving save from Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia.
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“It was certainly a missed opportunity in the last 15 minutes playing against 10 men, but overall across the whole game both teams defended pretty well," Palace manager Roy Hodgson said.
Five-time winner Everton also suffered a blow when Dwight McNeil sustained an injury and was taken off on a stretcher.
But Sean Dyche's team remains in the competition it last won in 1995.
Neither side would have wanted a replay, with both prioritizing top flight survival.
Everton had responded well to a 10-point deduction for breaching the league's financial rules by reeling off four straight wins following the sanction. But that had been followed by three losses going into Thursday's game.
Palace, meanwhile, picked up its first win since the start of November when it beat Brentford 3-1 on Saturday — a run that had led to speculation about Hodgson's future.
Everton's best chance of the first half came when Arnaut Danjuma forced Palace keeper Dean Henderson into a save and he then saw another effort go wide.
Palace was without the in-form Michael Olise because of a hamstring injury. Jefferson Lerma narrowly missed the target with a long-range shot for the home team in the first half.
After the break, Eze had a powerful shot saved by Virginia.
Palace had the advantage of an extra man after Calvert-Lewin's red card, but Everton still created openings before Eze was denied late on by Virginia.
