Everton boss David Moyes refused to condemn Sylvain Distin after his role in Liverpool's equaliser in yesterday's FA Cup semifinal defeat.

Moyes could only offer words of sympathy for Distin, who apologised to Everton's supporters after the game.

However, there was no hiding the fact Moyes felt the badly-hit back-pass was the game's turning point.

"Sylvain is really down," said Moyes. "He has been here a couple of times before and has won the FA Cup before with Portsmouth.

"He knows exactly what it means and how important it is. He has been great for us so far.

"But I said there would be little between the teams. I thought there would be defining moments and they were there for all to see."

It maintained an unhappy sequence of big-game defeats for Everton against their fierce city rivals, which did not make Moyes feel any better about his plight.

"It is not just me who as a manager has had to sit here and do this at Everton," he said. "There was always a chance that would happen. You are playing against a big football club aren't you?

"But I thought the way we had been playing it was our chance. Liverpool have not been where they would like to be and we had been playing well.

"That is why the game was very even and there was very little between the two teams.

"But a couple of small margins changed the result. I feel for them all. We are all in it together, whether it is someone who makes a mistake or not. That is the way it is here."