Jagielka stunner eases pressure on Martinez.
This was the story of the Merseyside captain who rescued his team with a wonder strike from 25 yards in stoppage time in front of the Kop.
And, for once, it was not Steven Gerrard.
Step forward Phil Jagielka, much criticised this season at the heart of an Everton defence that had conceded more goals than any other in the Premier League.
His team was heading for defeat and the alarm bells would have been ringing around Goodison Park in the days to come.
But with the calmness, technique and power that has hallmarked Gerrard’s dozens of match-winners and match-savers, Jagielka drove Dejan Lovren’s headed clearance into a top corner past a despairing Simon Mignolet.
It gave Everton a point they did not deserve and had the twin effect of avoiding their own crisis and preventing Liverpool kick-starting a season that is still just spluttering along.
It seemed that Gerrard had done his customary trick for Brendan Rodgers’ side when he dipped a free-kick over Everton’s wall in the 65th minute.
Like Jagielka, the Liverpool icon has taken a bit of stick this season, with the harshest critics suggesting that his legs have gone.
But as his strike beat Tim Howard’s desperate dive it seemed it would be the same old story: “Gerrard rescues Liverpool.”
Everton have not won at Anfield for 15 years and the sequence goes on though this will feel like a victory for Goodison boss Roberto Martinez.
Last season’s derbies were all about jostling for Champions League positions. The pair have been miles away from those standards so far this term and this derby was more about a win giving impetus to one club’s season and a defeat perhaps irrevocably damaging the other’s.
As it happened, the draw means both are still struggling in mid-table.
Letting in goals has been the big issue for both teams. And both still have negative goal differences.
Those who predicted a goal-fest as a consequence were a long way off the mark. To be fair to Liverpool, it was only Everton that looked to have confidence problems.
The early minutes saw the recently under-fire Tim Howard save well from Mario Balotelli and Adam Lallana, with referee Martin Atkinson waving away a convincing penalty appeal against Gareth Barry for handling.
Barry had just picked up a yellow card for a scything challenge of Lallana and he continued to ride his luck, steaming into tackles on Balotelli and Javier Manquillo that might have attracted further punishment from a referee not so willing to take account of the occasion.
Balotelli, in fact, looked lively, chasing and harrying and doing a passable impersonation of Luis Suarez.
Everton had a couple of brief forward flurries a Romelu Lukaku shot at Simon Mignolet and a Leighton Baines run that ended with a pass almost along the goal-line. There was also a pull on Lukaku by Alberto Moreno just inside Liverpool’s box that interested neither referee nor linesman.
Howard had an uncomfortable moment in the 29th minute when the power of Jordan Henderson’s shot meant he could only beat the ball out to Gerrard who failed to control.
It was a foul on Balotelli by Baines that led to Liverpool going ahead.
Gerrard had allowed the Italian to take a couple of free-kicks but this time he took responsibility himself.
It was a well-struck shot, but it was hardly top corner and Howard will blame himself for getting a hand to it but not keeping it out.
It should have been comfortable for Liverpool 90 seconds later when Raheem Sterling crossed for Balotelli to crack a volley against the bar from only a couple of yards out.
It was a miss Liverpool would soon regret as Jagielka stepped up to fire the equaliser in the second of three stoppage-time minutes.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe