Roger Johnson, an FA Cup finalist with Cardiff City, has pointed out with justification that no team would like to be drawn against Blues considering their rich vein of form and mood.
Saturday’s victory also came despite some handicaps for Blues.
Cameron Jerome and Kevin Phillips didn’t travel due to injury and 18-year-old Academy scholar Jake Jervis was included, and came on for his senior debut.
Jervis, in the 11 minutes he got, didn’t let the side down either.
He was unnerved, eager to join in and didn’t hold back on one or two challenges that let an experienced pro like Sylvain Distin know he wasn’t just there to fill the gaps.
Unlike the December league encounter between the teams, Blues started very brightly and with sharp focus.
It looked as if the warm-weather training break in Malta had reinvigorated them and provided a timely tonic from the norm, the snow and the cold.
Everton, starting with a stronger outfit than in that 1-1 draw, couldn’t do what they wanted after Blues went ahead through Christian Benitez’s stooping, speared header. Blues swiftly thrust forward and Keith Fahey’s sure and inviting first-time cross from the right eluded Phil Neville and then it was Chucho time.
The second goal, scored by Ferguson, was even better.
After another perky raid, Sebastian Larsson put the ball towards the edge of the area, Ferguson dummied and ran over it and James McFadden produced a pirouetting backheel to put him in.
Ferguson coolly shaped his body to arch a shot round Tim Howard and into the bottom corner – and that’s where it duly ended up.
Everton responded by bringing on Leon Osman, which proved a good move, and they got after Blues in the second half with a greater urgency.
Osman took advantage when Stephen Carr slipped high on the right, curling a fine goal from the edge of the penalty area past Hart, after the ball was worked square to him.
Before the 56th-minute goal that gave Everton a sniff, Blues should have ended the contest good and proper after another attack sprung from deep saw Benitez go clear from Larsson’s sliding pass.
As he has done before, Benitez elected to shoot at the wrong time – too early, from too far – instead of drawing the goalkeeper and Everton were left relieved.
There were a few near misses and Hart’s reflexes were obviously well-oiled when he superbly kept out a fierce close-range shot by Marouane Fellaini with five minutes to go. But Everton kind of sensed that Blues were not going to cave in, as Scott Dann and Johnson continued to enhance their reputation as a Bruce-Pallister combination in the making.
Right at the end, Blues put together a slick passage of passing in the central area as Everton rabidly tried to get the ball. It was all calm, clever and tight angles.
It even brought applause from Everton fans in the Main Stand. When that sort of thing happens, then you know that the craft as well as graft is being appreciated.
