AMSTERDAM – Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden continued his comeback on Saturday, but it was Tim Howard's Everton who march on to the FA Cup sweet 16 following a last-minute 2-1 winner at the Reebok.
The Everton netminder logged five saves, most notably twin denials of Marcos Alonso on either side of intermission. Howard has lost just once in his last 13 games across all competition.
Tim Ream pitched in with a solid display at the back for Wanderers, who brought Holden on for the final nine minutes in his first home appearance since March of 2011. The former Houston Dynamo man nearly had a game-winning assist when his 89th minute corner serve was nodded just wide by Zat Knight, a disappointment that was compounded a moment later when Johnny Heitinga fired home the decider from a restart scramble at the other end.
Everton will learn their opponent for the next round during Sunday's fifth-round draw.
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Elsewhere, Conor Doyle watched from the dugout as Derby County bowed out with a 3-0 home loss to Blackburn.
Turning to the Bundesliga, Fabian Johnson was a late scratch due to a knee complaint and Daniel Williams was an unused sub as Hoffenheim fell 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt. The visitors slipped into the automatic drop zone by extending their win drought to nine games.
Michael Parkhurst remains in wait for his Augsburg debut after going unused in a 0-0 draw with guests Schalke. The point earned moved the home side ahead of Hoffenheim into the survival playoff spot of 16th place.
Next door in Belgium, Sacha Kljestan worked a full shift as Anderlecht tentatively staked out an 11-point tabletop lead by winning 2-0 at Lokeren. It was the 11th straight Jupiler league victory for the Mauves, who seven games left before the championship hexagonal begins in March.
Over in Turkey, Maurice Edu suffered along with his Bursaspor teammates in a 4-1 defeat at Istanbul BB. The Green Crocodiles missed the chance to claim fourth place, slipping instead to sixth thanks to their first league loss in nine games.
Finally, in Spain's second flight, Carlos Bocanegra picked up a late yellow card in Racing Santander 3-1 home loss to Córdoba. The cellar-dwellers have now lost seven times in a nine-match winless run on the road.
