DAVID MOYES saluted the contribution of Everton’s fringe players as they earned a deserved goalless draw at Chelsea.

In a dress rehearsal for next month’s FA Cup Final, the visitors secured a second morale-boosting result against top-four opposition inside four days.

While Chelsea selected their strongest possible side, Moyes made four changes from the team that defeated Manchester United in Sunday’s Cup semi-final with Lars Jacobsen, Joseph Yobo, Segundo Castillo and Jo all stepping in.

Everton created the better chances and had a strong shout for a penalty when Leighton Baines was felled by Alex in the first half. And an encouraged Moyes said: “I decided to give some players a rest and give one or two players in the squad a go, and I thought the ones that came in did really well.

“Lars Jacobsen and Segundo Castillo came in and both of them did really well.

“I was surprised by how well we played. But we had the kitchen sink to deal with in the last five minutes and that was to be expected.

“If anybody needed a break it was the likes of Phil Neville, Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman, but we put them out and we have to pick them up again as we have another game on Saturday.

“It was a good point under the circumstances. After playing 120 minutes on Sunday and not having a massive amount of time to recover, to come and play as we did and get a draw against a team that is in form and playing well was a good result.”

Referee Mark Halsey waved away Everton’s first-half penalty appeal, and Moyes said: “The referee had a good game and did well, but from where I was sitting I thought it was a good shout.”

Baines himself added: “I was clipped but the ball was out of my control at the time so I can understand why it was not given.”

Everton kept a clean sheet for the second successive game – and the second time against Chelsea this season – and the performance of a defence that was without the rested Phil Jagielka and Tony Hibbert drew praise from Moyes.

“I thought both Joseph Yobo and Joleon Lescott were terrific,” he said. “But all the boys at the back were very good. We’ve kept a couple of clean sheets inside a week. You have to be very resilient when you are up against the very good teams that have spent heavily as you know there are times when you will be under pressure.”

The draw moves Everton to within a point of fifth-placed Aston Villa with five league games remaining. And Moyes added: “Fifth place means a lot to me. If we do finish in the top six then it’s four out of five seasons and it’s a sign that Everton are becoming a team at a level that might not be competing quite on the same level as the top four but isn’t far away.

“We’ve gained confidence from Sunday’s result. The players feel great, and so they should be. They have been playing great all season throughout adversity and the problems we have had. I have to say well done to them. Maybe it was a bigger effort in a way than on Sunday because they had to do it again.”

Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink admitted the result had effectively ended his team’s Premier League title challenge.

And Moyes reckons the forthcoming Champions League semi-final against Barcelona had played on the minds of the Londoners.

“If I was Chelsea I’d think it was at the front of my mind,” he said. “The semi-final of the Champions League is such a big game. Maybe Chelsea had an eye on that. In the final months of the season the big games stand out in the calendar, and for Chelsea the big games are the Barcelona games.”

Meanwhile, Moyes has reiterated there is no chance at present of Everton being able to afford to make on-loan Jo’s move permanent from Manchester City in the summer.

“I thought Jo played really well tonight,” said the Goodison manager. “He has improved game on game. He has got through on to two one or ones and missed but I think he is improving.

“We won’t have the cash to buy him given what City want.”