TIM CAHILL dedicated his goal to the victims of Australia’s recent bush fires after helping Everton into the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Cahill netted in the 76th-minute to set the seal on a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in yesterday’s fifth-round tie at Goodison.

After converting Victor Anichebe’s cross past Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel, the 29-year-old pointed to the black armband he was wearing as a mark of respect to those who have died in his homeland in the past few weeks.

And Cahill, whose strike was his seventh of the campaign, said: “I dedicated the goal to the people who have lost their lives in Australia in the bush fires.

“I have been away with the Australian national team and we’ve all been talking about it. It just puts everything into perspective.

“I’m just really happy I have been able to contribute something with the goal and the gesture.”

Of Everton’s triumph, Cahill added: “This is a massive a win for us.

“This is what we play for. People say finishing inside the top four is a big task but this Cup is amazing and we want to achieve something special.”

Mikel Arteta also scored his seventh goal of the season, regaining the lead for Everton from the spot on 24 minutes after James Milner’s eight-minute penalty had equalised Jack Rodwell’s early opener.

And despite the Goodison outfit missing a raft of players, Arteta believes the spirit that helped dump Liverpool out in the previous round was again evident and could take David Moyes’s side all the way in the competition.