Paul Bosvelt was on the edge of the penalty when Billy McKinlay lunged across him and brought him down, leaving Anelka to thump his spot-kick gratefully into the roof of the net.The game became a shapeless affair after that, until Leicester again took route one 20 minutes into the second half. He narrowly failed to get his head to a cross from Sylvain Distin, failed to capitalise on confusion between Walker and Andy Impey as he ran on goal and then almost squeezed a shot through Walker’s legs after being set up by Steve McManaman.It took a gift from Leicester to produce the equaliser. I took him off to stop him getting into any further trouble,” said the Leicester manager, Mickey Adams, who poured scorn on £500,000 bids from Blackburn and Aston Villa for another of his prized assets, Muzzy Izzet: “That wouldn’t buy his left boot,” he said.The Manchester response to the goal was a committed effort from Robbie Fowler who three times went close to squaring accounts. While he was still settling into that new role, Marcus Bent attacked the area where a conventional left-back might have been expected to be and got in a cross which Paul Dickov, once such a popular player at Maine Road, reached ahead of Richard Dunne at the near post and steered into the net.Dickov also scored in Leicester’s emphatic 3-0 victory here in November and his popularity with the Manchester faithful started to wane by the time he was substituted following a series of clashes with opponents as well as that goal in the second half.”He epitomises everything that is right about our football club. Manchester City’s sequence without a win now extends to a morale-sapping 12 games but at least they are still in the FA Cup, thanks to two equalisers from Nicolas Anelka. The enigmatic Frenchman, desperately short of goals himself during City’s recent famine, converted a penalty and scored with a second-half header to repair the damage after City had twice been caught cold by breakaway goals. After only three minutes, Ian Walker launched the ball upfield, James Scowcroft won it in the air, and a restructured City defence was caught unawares.Kevin Keegan has adopted a 3-5-2 system and yesterday that meant Sun Jihai playing in an unaccustomed position wide on the left.

For the moment, though, it might be wise not to put your team on the Premiership stage, Mr Worthington.Everton 3 Norwich City 1 Kilbane 15, Ferguson pen 38, pen 70; Brennan 27Half-time: 2-1 Attendance: 29,955. Huckerby had an attempt cleared off the line and Brennan drove a free-kick from just outside the area low and hard, only for Nigel Martyn to block the attempt.It was another penalty from the same source, a foul by Roberts on Stubbs, which finally extinguished Norwich’s flickering flames of belief. Again, Ferguson was too wily for Green and gave the keeper no chance.The result left Moyes contemplating the feasibility of an overdue run in the Cup while Worthington can – it goes without saying – concentrate on the League. “Duncan was always a handful and took his penalties really well,” enthused Moyes of the lanky Scot, who received a standing ovation when he was substituted late on.Everton had a nervous demeanour early in the second half and Norwich clearly detected that as they rose to the challenge. Ferguson deceived Green with a mischievous spot-kick to claim his fourth goal of the season. Everton eventually took the lead from a 15th-minute free-kick after Marc Edworthy had been adjudged to have fouled Gravesen on the right.

When the free-kick curled uncontested into the six-yard box, Kilbane headed home.Just before the half-hour, the visitors replied. Gary Naysmith was cautioned for a foul on Paul McVeigh, and from Edworthy’s free-kick the home team failed to clear and the Canadian international Jim Brennan curled his shot in off the far post.Moyes’ men gave the scoreline a more accurate reflection seven minutes before the interval when Iwan Roberts fouled Alan Stubbs clumsily in the area. “But the referee’s given them and we’ve got to accept them.”That aside, he approved of his side’s contribution, claiming that “there were periods in the second half when we made a good side look ordinary.” That overstates the visitors’ case. The travelling Canaries chirruped loudly throughout but, apart from two fertile periods in each half, their exhortations were in vain, and Worthington was left in no doubt that, despite acquiring Darren Huckerby from Manchester City, the prospect of promotion to the Premiership must be regarded with trepidation.With greater fortune, Everton would have enjoyed three goals in that early period when Rooney, twice, Thomas Gravesen and James McFadden went close and Ferguson struck the bar. “I’d question the free-kick which led to the first goal, and the penalty decisions,” said their manager, Nigel Worthington.