Too many players performed below the standards they had set themselves the previous week. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov may have been hauled off at the interval but he wasn’t alone in not producing; this was a collective failing for which Everton have only themselves to blame.

As Moyes stated afterwards, the increased competition places – improved further by the arrival of on-loan Philippe Senderos for the remainder of the season – means he has genuine scope for change ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League visit of Sunderland. And the axe will surely fall after this result.

Had Benitez not shot straight at Howard when being put clean through by Larsson shortly after the interval, any hope of an Everton comeback would surely have been dashed.

Instead, Bilyaletdinov’s replacement, Leon Osman, brought the home side back into the game on 57 minutes when he curled in a fine finish from 20 yards after being fed by Pienaar.

That was the cue for Moyes’s men to finally step up a gear. However, Louis Saha twice snatched at presentable opportunities before making way for James Vaughan, who fared no better when stretching to direct a header narrowly off target and then firing a volley on the turn just over the crossbar.

Even Marouane Fellaini, Everton’s man of the moment, had been dragged down by the first-half malaise, but the Belgian grew in stature after the interval and twice almost drew his side level in the final fine minutes.

After being found by Pienaar, Fellaini stepped inside Birmingham centre-back Scott Dann and thrashed a shot that was too close to goalkeeper Joe Hart, who parried the ball clear.

And then, after a cross from Phil Neville, Fellaini dug out a shot that flashed inches past the far post.

But in truth an equaliser would have been harsh on Birmingham for whom Liverpool-born Dann and Roger Johnson, as in the 1-1 Premier League draw here the previous month, were immense at the heart of defence.

The one positive for Everton was the return to action of Mikel Arteta. The Spanish midfielder had been sorely missed during a spell of almost a year on the sidelined following serious knee ligament damage, his rehabilitation subsequently hampered by two separate setbacks.

So it was a mixture of relief and genuine delight that Goodison rose to its feet to applaud Arteta’s appearance as a 76th-minute substitute.

It will take time for the midfielder to rediscover his peak fitness and form – a point Moyes rightly made after the game – but the mere sight of the player back on the pitch was a significant bonus.

How frustrating, then, that with Arteta soon to be joined back in contention by Victor Anichebe, Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell, the cavalry will find only the Europa League to play for.

Hamburg is still on, but Wembley will have to wait for another year.