Although it was a couple of defensive lapses that robbed Birmingham City of a point against Everton, both managers felt it was an incident in the middle of the park that proved the catalyst to the hosts' barnstorming finish.

With the scores level and the match petering out into a tepid stalemate, Birmingham striker Garry O'Connor was felled in his own half by a robust challenge from Thomas Gravesen.

The Scot looked in serious trouble as he lay on the Goodison Park pitch but, instead of kicking the ball out of play and then receiving it back from the hosts after the subsequent throw-in, Mikael Forssell opted to play on.

Instead, Everton's Tim Cahill rolled the ball dead to allow O'Connor to receive treatment but, rather than merely return possession to the home goalkeeper, City's Olivier Kapo went for the touchline deep in Everton territory.

Innocuous as it sounds, it was an injustice that enraged the Everton supporters and David Moyes' team and one from which they scored virtually straight away.

Both Moyes and Steve Bruce identified it as a key issue behind the hosts' late charge. "I told Mikael he should have kicked the ball out when he had the chance," Bruce said.

"What happened then is that the home crowd got their backs up, they were annoyed with what happened and it sparked their team into action.

"Little things like that change football matches. If we had kicked the ball out of play when we had the chance, they would have had to give it back to us and it would have calmed things down and taken up some time.

"But by doing what we did and with Kapo then kicking the ball out for a throw-in deep in Everton's half, everybody was going berserk.

"Everton were being roared on by the fans and they came back at us to get those two goals in injury-time. All that could have been avoided and I have told people that in no uncertain terms; the air was blue in the dressing room."

Indeed it was and not just in the changing room, either. The incident sparked a melee on the halfway line and inspired Everton to punish Kapo in the best way possible.

"It fired everyone up," Moyes agreed. "Birmingham will look back and know their player made a mistake by not kicking the ball out when one of his own players was injured.

"Now, and this is with the managers' agreement, nobody has to put the ball out, it is down to the referee.

"I was annoyed that Tim did that and then I was annoyed when their lad just kicked the return out of play deep in our half.

"It was the first time the team, the crowd, me, had got themselves riled up together. We then went for it and we got our just rewards."