Everton came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in the two Premier League teams' FA Cup quarter-final at Goodison Park on Saturday.
A frenetic first half saw Sunderland take an early lead through fullback Phil Bardsley before Everton levelled with a header from Tim Cahill.
Sunderland's opener came after a cleverly worked free-kick on 12 minutes, Jack Colback squaring to Bardsley who lashed home a thunderous low shot that gave Everton keeper Tim Howard no chance.
Yet Everton, aiming to bounce back from their Merseyside derby mauling in midweek, drew level just over 10 minutes later with a goal that owed everything to the predatory instincts of Australian international Cahill.
Leighton Baines swung in a cross from the left and Nikica Jelavic's header found Cahill, who reacted swiftly to steer in the the equaliser.
An evenly balanced second half saw both sides struggle to create many clear-cut chances although Everton nearly snatched a winner in the dying minutes only to be denied by a superb double save from Simon Mignolet.
The Belgian international goalkeeper dived at full stretch to claw away Johnny Heitinga's well-directed header and then sprang to his feet to block Jelavic's follow-up for a corner.
The result means David Moyes' Toffees must now travel to the Stadium of Light for a replay as they attempt to return to Wembley three years after their defeat in the final against Chelsea.
Everton defender Phil Neville admitted his side were disappointed at their failure to secure a win on home turf.
"We had home advantage we wanted to win," Neville told ITV1. "We didn't start the game well, and we're disappointed we didn't play more a bit.
"Maybe the occasion got to us. We didn't capitalise on our chances."
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill said the Black Cats had deserved to take the game to a replay.
"We deserved to stay in the cup. It was a fantastic double save at the end, really brilliant. It would have been tough on us to lose," O'Neill said.
"This is a difficult place to play, especially away from home in the quarter-finals.
"I thought we started well and got a great goal. The equaliser knocked us back a bit. After that it could have gone either way."
O'Neill refused to agree that Sunderland's home advantage in the replay could tip the tie in their favour.
"My own view is the game is in the balance, even though we have home advantage it doesn't mean anything. Everton are very strong," he said.
Source: AFP
