BENITE ZZZZZZ BORE; The FA CUP e-on FOURTH ROUND REPLAY EVERTON 0 LIVERPOOL 0 (EXTRA TIME) Gerrard is crocked, Lucas sent off in an extra tense finale.

Byline: BY DAVID MADDOCK

THEY say only two things are certain in life, but forget death and taxes, in Merseyside cup derbies, injury and extra time are the inevitable outcomes.

This tense FA Cup tie tiptoed through an almost paranoid state into the unbearable tension of an extra period, with both sides almost as nervous as the fans.

Only Everton's Leon Osman came remotely close to breaking the deadlock in normal time when Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill brilliantly combined to set him up in front of goal, but his shot crashed back off an upright.

Liverpool were thrown up against it for much of the extra period, when their naive midfielder Lucas produced two stupid tackles, on first Arteta and then Joleon Lescott, to get himself crassly dismissed, and make the game even more negative.

Beyond that, the only real drama was the sight of Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard limping off the pitch just minutes into the game, an almost inevitable outcome given that his manager had so confidently asserted his side could easily manage without Robbie Keane barely 24 hours earlier.

It was a fraught contest with a fraught conclusion, and we could expect little else really, given what was at stake in terms of local pride and national significance.

Not only is this the most often-played fixture in the history of the FA Cup, the two sides have now met three times in the past 17 days, and that familiarity was painfully evident in the agonised opening stages.

So much is at stake in these games, and that too, was evident in the nervous, frantic atmosphere that skittered around this ground - and transmitted itself into the jittery performance of the players.

Nothing new there, of course, and for all the frenetic pace, there was little of the overt aggression that usually marks this fixture...quite literally. But there was little evidence of any cohesive play either, with both sides - understandably - reluctant to dwell on the ball.

Indeed, the only moment of note in the opening half hour was the loss to Liverpool of their captain Gerrard, who took the dreaded walk that undoubtedly strikes most fear into the hearts of their supporters - the one where he limps prematurely out of the fray.

He damaged his hamstring, and though the injury is thought not serious, it was still enough to disrupt the visitors last night, as the loss of any talisman would do. It allowed Everton a rare control, by the standards of this fixture, for much of the first half.

To lose Gerrard just two days after the departure of Keane was unfortunate. But then, wasn't it almost inevitable as soon as the Anfield manager had said his side could easily cope without the striker? Rafa Benitez is right when he said that Keane hardly pulled up any trees, and it has to be said that some of his performances - notably Preston in this competition and the league game against Everton - bordered on the horrific.

But when your captain and only other supply of goals other than Fernando Torres gets injured, it must be some sort of comfort to have a pounds 20million striker in reserve, no matter how dubious his form.

Without Gerrard, Liverpool looked decidedly vulnerable, and Everton quickly sensed it. There was an extra spring in their step, and their passing finally found its range, as Arteta and Osman produced some pleasant exchanges around the penalty area.

Osman produced one powerful volley, but his aim was less impressive than his timing, and the ball sailed high and wide.

Tony Hibbert, energised down the right, provided several dangerous crosses, but Jamie Carragher is an old hand at these tense encounters, and dealt with the threat in his usual manner. Resolutely.

For Liverpool, nothing much but determined defence happened in the minutes after the departure of their playmaker, but as the shock of their loss eased, they too finally settled enough to actually pass to a red shirt, and the uneasy equilibrium was restored.

Everton had more control of the game after the break but, apart from Osman's chance, rarely troubled the Liverpool defence as the contest moved into extra time and the tension got even worse for the Merseyside fans.

The prize for the winners is a clash against Aston Villa in the fifth round.

EVERTON: Howard 7, Hibbert 6, Jagielka 8, Lescott 7, Baines 6, Neville 7, Arteta 6, Osman 6, Fellaini 6, (Gosling 53), Pienaar 6 (Rodwell 61, 6), Cahill 7.

LIVERPOOL: Reina 6, Arbeloa 6, Carragher 7, Skrtel 7, Dossena 6, Lucas 5, Alonso 6 Kuyt 6, Gerrard 5 (Benayoun 17, 6), Riera, Torres 6.

Ref: Alan Wiley Att: 38,000

CAPTION(S):

RED NIGHT Lucas gets his marching orders; OFF Gerrard is KO'd by a hamstring injury after just 16 minutes