The Merseysiders looked the more dangerous during the early stages, but Stoke almost took the lead against the run of play on 10 minutes when Peter Odemwingie fired wide following Ollie Shenton's cross.

The Potters grew in confidence after that opportunity, and they came close again midway through the half as Marko Arnautovic burst clear before Phil Jagielka's last-ditch challenge denied the Austrian.

Everton tried to get Romelu Lukaku involved as much as possible during the first period, only for the striker to find himself lacking options in the final third and unable to make anything happen.

Both teams had half-chances as the interval loomed, but Stephen Ireland blazed over the crossbar before Kevin Mirallas had a powerful drive blocked at the other end.

Everton started the second half with plenty of enthusiasm and they were denied the game's opening goal soon after the restart when Steven Naismith's strike was pushed away by goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard.

Leon Osman had a fierce drive blocked by the Stoke defence a few minutes later, while Gerard Deulofeu was thwarted by Geoff Cameron's well-timed challenge with 58 minutes on the clock.

A flurry of action broke out with an hour played as Ireland was denied from a few yards out by Tim Howard, before Haugaard was on hand to tip away Deulofeu's controlled strike following a quick Everton break.

Following a lull in play, both teams pushed for a goal during the final 20 minutes. Peter Crouch's header across the six-yard box failed to reach a teammate, while the striker's control let him down at the vital moment when he tried to provide another cross a minute later.

Naismith could have bagged a winner for Everton with just eight minutes remaining, but his initial effort was saved by Haugaard before the Scot was crowded out by the Stoke defence when he tried to convert the rebound. The Toffees has one final opening through Lukaku, though the forward could only drag his shot wide.

With the game going straight to penalties, Marco van Ginkel saw his strike saved by Howard early on which allowed Jagielka to score to give Everton a 5-4 win.