James McFadden's late equaliser deprived impressive Blackburn of a deserved win against Everton at Goodison Park.

Roque Santa Cruz's scrambled early goal, his third in four games, looked to have settled a scrappy clash, turning home after Morten Gamst Pedersen had hit the woodwork.

But Everton battles back after the break and James McFadden steered in Mikel Arteta's cross after 77 minutes to secure a 1-1 draw.

The result left Blackburn boss Mark Hughes slightly deflated that the performance did not earn three points.

"We certainly felt the way we played in the first half, when we were excellent, that performance merited a win.

"We had a number of chances and scored one. If we'd got a second it would have been hard for Everton to come back.

"We knew David Moyes would get a reaction and they asked questions in the second half."

Hughes added: "We are a bit disappointed because we work hard to stop crosses into the box.

"But we are reasonably happy with the result.

"I think everyone enjoyed it. You saw two committed teams."