Everton 0 Birmingham 0: Birmingham slithered back into the relegation zone with barely a whimper at Goodison Park and now face a two-game fight for survival knowing their fate is no longer in their own hands.
Not only did Steve Bruce's men fail to end a barren run at Everton which stretches back to 1957, they hardly threatened their hosts and in the end were fortunate to escape with a single point.
No-one could argue Birmingham did not battle hard; Damien Johnson needed to change a blood-soaked shirt three times in a scrappy second half.
But the visitors' total inability to force the pace does not bode well for their final two outings against Newcastle and Bolton which they now know must yield at least two points - and probably more - if they are to avoid slumping back into the Championship.
The result was hardly a cause for celebration at Everton either as they have now gone six games without a win. However, the Merseysiders' need for points is nowhere near as acute as that of their visitors.
Bruce is sick of citing a chronic run of injuries as the major reason why heady pre-season expectation has given way to a year of terror near the foot of the table.
For quite a while, it looked as though Everton would be involved in a relegation scrap too.
An impressive post-Christmas burst put an end to those fears but despite their resurgence, the Toffeemen have still been stuck in a rut as far as goalscoring is concerned.
With just two matches of the campaign remaining, David Moyes' men have still only scored on 31 occasions, a tally which looks likely to end in the worst seasonal return in the club's history.
Their first-half showing provided a microcosm of where it has all gone wrong.
In an opening period they dominated, it seemed as though blue shirts were queuing up to take pot shots at the Birmingham goal.
Yet, Phil Neville, James McFadden and the excellent Leon Osman all fired wide and Birmingham 'keeper Maik Taylor pushed a couple of efforts over, notably a diving header Gary Naysmith bounced into the ground at the far post.
Probably, Everton's best opportunity came when McFadden fizzed a corner past the face of Joseph Yobo, who inexplicably failed to get his head onto it.
Mario Melchiot had been equally culpable at the other end when he nodded over from a good position in the opening stages but after that, it was largely a rearguard action for the visitors, who were not helped by Jermaine Pennant's nightmare performance.
Usually by far Birmingham's most dangerous attacking weapon, Pennant could do little right.
The former Arsenal man blazed a decent chance wide from the edge of the box, curled a 25-yard free-kick into the Gwladys Street End and then failed to control in routine fashion so badly under no pressure at all that he kneed the ball out for an Everton corner.
Pennant improved after the break, which admittedly was not too hard, and Naysmith needed to race across and make a brave block when Yobo's headed clearance had fallen invitingly for the Birmingham winger.
The loss of Tim Cahill to a knee injury at the break affected Everton's momentum, although eventually the hosts got into their stride and even had a goal disallowed when Beattie was ruled offside when he rammed home the rebound after Taylor had failed to hold Osman's shot.
As the majority of pressure continued to surround the Birmingham goal, Taylor saved a well-struck volley from David Weir, then saw McFadden curl a free-kick just wide.
By that time, Pennant and Emile Heskey had departed the scene and news of Sunderland's goal at Portsmouth had filtered through to the visiting fans.
Pompey's leveller quickly silenced the celebrations, although the disappointment was nothing compared to the heart scare Nicky Butt must have given the Birmingham fans when he launched himself at a cross from old Manchester United team-mate Phil Neville and headed it narrowly wide of his own goal.
It was not the type of a moment a club living of their nerves is looking for. And Matthew Taylor's late penalty at Fratton Park just made the situation worse.
