Once more yesterday, Everton were asked to overcome the odds as a squad stricken by injury, suspension and ineligibility was further hampered by the absence of Leon Osman.

Moyes turned to his youngsters, and was again handsomely rewarded. Responsibility thrust upon them on the big stage, Dan Gosling, Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe all stepped up to the plate; none more so than Anichebe.

The striker was making his first appearance since the ugly bust-up with Moyes on the eve of the replay against Liverpool, and his impassioned display, similar to that against the Anfield outfit in the Premier League meeting last month, suggests he retains the desire to make the grade at Goodison.

Anichebe’s barnstorming run earned the penalty from which Mikel Arteta restored Everton’s first-half advantage after Rodwell’s opener was equalised by a James Milner spot kick, before the Nigeria international created the clincher for Tim Cahill.

Cahill’s goal, which he later dedicated to the victims of the Australian bush-fires, was richly deserved after another selfless shift up front. It epitomised the home team’s efforts. Villa contributed hugely to an entertaining game, but Everton simply wanted it more.

At the back, Phil Jagielka shrugged off his slip-up in Seville with England while Tim Howard played through the pain barrier of a thigh injury sustained while on international duty in midweek.

But yet again the standout was Arteta, the Spanish schemer continuing to revel in a central midfield role from which it will be difficult for him to be displaced.

Having fallen behind after just 34 seconds when the teams last met at Goodison in December, Everton ensured it was Villa that were this time caught cold by forging ahead after four minutes of a rip-roaring first half which began at breakneck speed and rarely paused to catch breath.

Arteta’s inswinging corner from the left was met by a powerful Cahill header that was cleared off the line by the fist of Stiliyan Petrov into the path of Rodwell, who thrashed home the rebound to open his Everton account.

Referee Atkinson considered the goal itself punishment enough for Villa, but would Everton have been better served by Petrov being dismissed, a penalty awarded and the chance to play 86 minutes against 10 men? The result rendered the decision irrelevant, but it remained a talking point between the managers afterwards.

Indeed, it was from Petrov’s through ball four minutes later that Gabriel Agbonlahor raced into space and was upended by Tony Hibbert inside the area for a clear penalty. Howard almost kept out Milner’s spot kick, but the ball squirmed under his body and over the line.

Remarkably, Milner became the first visiting player to convert a penalty in the FA Cup at Goodison since Bill Shankly in 1946.