The Australian, who had only managed one goal this season coming into the game, levelled the contest on 24 minutes after Phil Bardsley's opener for the Black Cats.

Cahill's moment came when Leighton Baines whipped in a left-wing cross which Nikica Jelavic headed towards goal with the Australian reacting quickly to deflect the ball past Simon Mignolet.

The goal seemed to give Cahill renewed confidence as he put in a man-of-the-match display going close to deciding the tie on a handful of occasions.

Cahill, who was left out of the Merseyside derby in midweek along with five other regulars who returned to face Sunderland,  went close soon after, forcing Mignolet to save with Sylvain Distin firing off target the rebound.

The increasingly influential Cahill also forced a save from Mignolet from long range in the second 45, while he had a late valley which was easily collected by the Sunderland keeper.

Everton assistant coach Steve Round told the club's website: "I thought Tim was terrific today. He looked fresh and full of energy. He was a threat in both boxes and he linked us up really well. He deserved his goal."

Elsewhere on Saturday, Rhys Williams missed Middlesbrough's 3-0 loss to Birmingham City in England's Championship due to an ankle ligament injury sustained last weekend.

Meanwhile, Adam Federici kept a clean sheet as second-placed Reading boosted their automatic promotion hopes with a 4-0 win away to Barnsley.

In Japan's J.League, Alex Brosque continued his fine goalscoring form with the opener in Shimizu S-Pulse's 2-1 victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Meanwhile on Friday night in China's Super League, Joel Griffiths netted from the spot as Shanghai Shenhua lost 3-2 against his former club Beijing Guoan.

Griffiths, who received alot of attention from his former supporters, won the penalty to make it 2-1 on 62 minutes, before pouncing a poor backpass with his shot saved but falling into the path of glamour signing Nicolas Anelka who made it 2-2. However Guoan grabbed a late winner.