Coming in the middle of a hectic, compacted season of football, this was probably not what either side wanted or needed. But it certainly didn't do the dear old FA Cup any harm.
What a super game of knock out football. Punch and counter punch. Cut and thrust. Extra-time. And in the end a victory carved out and secured by a superb piece of skill from a lovely footballer.
Gylfi Sigurdsson has taken longer than expected to exert his influence at Everton.
But here he created the goal that mattered in the first period of extra time.