Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin was controversially shown a straight red card as the Toffees held Crystal Palace to a goalless draw at Selhurst Park on Thursday to force an FA Cup third-round replay.
In a contest with minimal clear-cut chances, Everton looked the most likely to break the deadlock before Calvert-Lewin was harshly dismissed on the 79-minute mark for a tackle on Nathaniel Clyne following a VAR review, much to the disbelief of the Toffees players and travelling supporters.
Everton winger Dwight McNeil was then stretchered off in stoppage time with what appeared to be a serious injury in stoppage time, but Palace were unable to take advantage of the extra man, meaning both sides have been consigned to a somewhat undesirable replay at Goodison Park.
Roy Hodgson made two changes to the Palace side that beat Brentford 3-1 last weekend, with 19-year-old summer signing Matheus Franca handed his full debut at the expense of injured winger Michael Olise, while AFCON-bound Jordan Ayew was replaced by Jeffrey Schlupp.
Sean Dyche, meanwhile, opted to make three changes to the Everton lineup that lost 3-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, with Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane and Nathan Patterson all making way for goalkeeper Joao Virginia, Seamus Coleman and Arnaut Danjuma, the latter of whom made a bright start to the match at Selhurst Park.
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Both sides were cancelling each other out in the opening exchanges, but Danjuma was presented with the first real chance on the 17-minute mark, although his shot from a tight angle deflected off Chris Richards and flew into the side-netting for a corner.
The Dutchman then pounced on Jack Harrison's through-ball and raced through on goal, but his poked effort was tipped over the crossbar by the right hand of Dean Henderson, before James Garner's whipped corner kick struck the near post before Palace frantically cleared the ball away from danger.
Palace ended the first half relatively strongly, with Vitaliy Mykolenko forced to make a vital clearance following a dangerous delivery into the box by Schlupp, before Jefferson Lerma fired a shot from the edge of the area narrowly over, but Dyche would have been the happier of the two managers heading into half time.
Eagles talisman Eberechi Eze, who was booked for diving in the 13th minute, endured a relatively quiet first half by his standards, but he produced the first shot on goal in the early stages of the second half, a powerful one from the right side of the penalty box that was well saved by Virginia a full stretch.
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Everton responded well but failed to take advantage of the chances presented to them – Calvert-Lewin firstly directing a tame side-footed effort straight at Henderson after bursting down the left channel in acres of space.
Amadou Onana then headed two efforts wide without threatening Henderson, before Danjuma's fired a shot straight down the throat of the Palace goalkeeper after Everton caught the hosts on the break.
The turning point then came 11 minutes from time when Calvert-Lewin fairly lunged into a tackle on Clyne on the edge of Palace's box and won possession before laying off to McNeil, who was closed down before he could get a shot away.
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Play was then momentarily stopped as that challenge from Calvert-Lewin was reviewed by VAR; the Everton striker raised his studs but barely touched Clyne's shin without any malice as he won the ball. However, on-field referee Chris Kavanagh was advised to head over to the pitchside monitor and ultimately came to the decision to dismiss the Englishman.
A chorus of boos rang out from the away end as the tackle was shown on the big screen at Selhurst Park, with Toffees supporters forced to bite their nails through a further 10 minutes of normal time and an additional nine minutes of stoppage time, hoping that their side would hang on for at least a share of the spoils.
Shortly before Pereira made a superb diving save to tip Eze's powerful strike from the edge of the area, McNeil was seen in significant discomfort following an awkward landing inside the Palace penalty area and was eventually placed onto a stretcher following a lengthy spell of treatment off the field of play.
Palace pushed for a late winner in the dying embers, but were forced to settle for a draw and they, along with Everton, will have their name in the hat for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round draw.
Oliver Thomas
