Holders Chelsea survived a major FA Cup fourth-round scare as substitute Salomon Kalou denied Everton victory.

The Cote d'Ivoire international struck 15 minutes from time to deny the home side a famous win and preserve the Blues' hopes of winning the trophy for the third time in as many years. Louis Saha had given Everton a 62nd-minute lead, and there was late drama when Ramires hit the post at one end and Petr Cech pulled off a fine save to deny Jermaine Beckford at the other, but a replay will be required to split the sides.

Premier League counterparts Aston Villa, however, did ensure their place in the fifth-round draw with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers despite having defender Nathan Baker sent off. First-half goals from Ciaran Clark, Robert Pires and Nathan Delfouneso made substitute Niko Kalinic's 18th-minute equaliser irrelevant.

Birmingham made to battle
However, neighbours Birmingham City did it the hard way after manager Alex McLeish made wholesale changes following their Carling Cup exertions in midweek. The Premier League side trailed 2-0 to local rivals Coventry City of the Championship with 26 minutes gone as Marlon King and Richard Wood got the visitors off to a dream start.

But, David Bentley launched a remarkable comeback ten minutes before the break and after Stuart Parnaby's first goal in almost five years levelled things up, veteran Kevin Phillips snatched victory with a 73rd-minute winner.

Championship Swansea City, however, were not so fortunate as they were dumped out of the competition by League One Leyton Orient. The Londoners ensured their place in the hat for the fifth-round draw with a 2-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium with Swans defender Alan Tate's 88th-minute own goal seeing them through after Cedric van der Gun had dragged the home side back into the game following Jimmy Smith's 35th-minute opener.

There was something of a shock at Vicarage Road too, where Watford of the Championship went down to Brighton & Hove Albion of League One after goalkeeper Rene Gilmartin made a mess of dealing with Ashley Barnes' 16th-minute shot.

League Two Stevenage, conquerors of Premier League Newcastle United in the third round, were unable to extend their run further despite coming from behind at home to Reading. Mikele Leigertwood put the visitors ahead with 23 minutes gone, but Darius Charles equalised with 18 minutes left, only for Shane Long to snatch victory for the Championship club.

Crawley cause upset at Torquay
Burton's adventure also drew to a close at Burnley as a Chris Eagles double proved enough for the Clarets despite loan signing Calvin Zola's 80th-minute strike. The all Premier League clash between Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic at the Reebok Stadium ended goalless, but there was plenty of action at Hillsborough.

League Two Hereford United took a ninth-minute lead through Stuart Fleetwood, but Darren Potter's equaliser six minutes later set the scene for Clinton Morrison to score twice from the penalty spot, either side of Jermaine Johnson's 77th-minute strike as Sheffield Wednesday ran out 4-1 winners.

Crawley joined an exclusive band of non-league clubs to reach the fifth round with a 1-0 win over League Two Torquay United at Plainmoor. Matt Tubbs fired the visitors ahead six minutes before the break, and after the Gulls had Chris Zebroski sent off for a second bookable offence, Tubbs and team-mate Craig McAllister had second-half penalties saved by Scott Bevan.

Crawley had defender Dean Howell sent off in the 83rd minute and almost paid the price late on when defender Kevin Nicholson crashed a shot against the crossbar, but they managed to hang on to claim a place in the last 16.