THE POINT at which a player is active or inactive in relation to the offside rule has confused and frustrated many managers this season, and Everton's David Moyes was left shaking his head after what had looked to be a late winner by Andy Johnson was chalked off by the linesman's flag.
Only four minutes remained when James Vaughan rose to flick a long clearance into the Rovers' half, turned to chase, and found Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel had left his area in an attempt to get to the ball first. They arrived at roughly the same time, and Vaughan, having won the ball in a fair tackle, managed to turn it inside for Johnson to round Zurab Khizanishvili, and roll the ball into the empty net. The celebrations had begun before it was realised the linesman was signalling.
Now, at the moment Vaughan had got his head to the ball, Johnson was well beyond the final defender - but at what point had the move, or passage of play, been said to have definitively started, because by the time Vaughan won the ball from Friedel, and before he scooped it back inside - while still on the floor - Johnson was unquestionably well onside.
"It's onside," said Moyes. "There were a minimum of two, maybe three, perhaps even four defenders playing Johnson on. But it happens, we didn't get it, and I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt us." His disappointment was to some extent tempered by a performance which had suggested Everton's Champions League aspirations were considerably more substantial than Blackburn Rovers' hopes of pinching a Uefa Cup slot. The first half had been generally disappointing. On the few occasions space was created for a cross, neither Friedel nor opposite number Tim Howard were put under any real pressure. In fact, it was almost half an hour before the game produced a shot on goal. It was a good one, too, Leon Osman and Tim Cahill combining well before Mikel Arteta tested Friedel with a low effort that the goalkeeper saved to his right.
The resulting corner saw the ball headed clear but only as far as Osman, whose shot from the edge of the area flew a foot wide of his right-hand post. At the other end, David Bentley, around 25 yards out, shot over, and the home crowd, sensing the flow of the game and seeing Everton's grip on midfield beginning to tighten, became increasingly restless.
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What the visitors were struggling to do was make chances, whereas at least Bentley's readiness to have a pop from distance meant Rovers did offer an occasional threat. His aim was improving too, a swerving effort from outside the penalty area had Howard hopping anxiously.
Only in the last minute before the break did Everton come close again, Phil Jagielka seeing his header from Mikel Arteta's corner bounce past Friedel before being headed off the line by David Dunn.
The first minute of the second half contained almost as much excitement as the preceding 45 put together. Bentley thumped in a low shot from an angle that Howard did well to save before Everton broke, Johnson got the better of Khizanishvili and the crossed ball ran across the Rovers penalty area before ending up at the feet of Manuel Fernandes. With only Friedel to beat, the Portuguese shot tamely at the goalkeeper.
Now we had a game on our hands. Brett Emerton dumped Arteta in one of the piles of snow surrounding the pitch as Blackburn totted up the yellow cards and Osman headed Phil Neville's cross wide from eight yards.
Shortly after, Neville might have won a penalty when another cross thumped into Morten Gamst Pedersen. Just after the hour Fernandes almost made up for his earlier miss with a low, curling 25-yard free kick that bounced clear off Friedel's left-hand post.
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With Johnson's endless appetite for the chase beginning to wear down Khizanishvili and Andre Ooijer, it was nearly all Everton, though Rovers substitute Benni McCarthy had a good shout for a penalty declined and Bentley's 79th-minute free kick was tipped around the post by Howard.
Even after Johnson's "goal" there was still time for a minor fracas between Cahill and Pedersen and for Roque Santa Cruz to sweep a cross from the right just over the Everton bar. The crowd left shaking their heads, both at the contrast between the two halves and the exact state of the offside law.
"First phase, second phase, active, inactive, it's just too much of a grey area," said Rovers manager Mark Hughes. "Obviously I'd argue it was offside at the first stage, and it certainly would have been when I was playing, but I'm not sure if anybody really understands it now."
Match stats
Blackburn: Shots on target (incl goals) 3, Shots off target 7, Blocked shots 4, Corners won 4, Total fouls conceded 20, Offsides 1, Yellow cards 4, Red cards 0, Possession 57%
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Everton: Shots on target (incl goals) 4, Shots off target 5, Blocked shots 1, Corners won 9, Total fouls conceded 17, Offsides 2, Yellow cards 2, Red cards 0, Possession 43%
Star man: Joleon Lescott (Everton) Star man: Joleon Lescott (Everton)
Player ratings: Blackburn: Friedel 6, Emerton 6, Ooijer 6, Khizanishvili 7, Warnock 6, Bentley 7, Dunn 5 (McCarthy 56min, 6), Reid 6, Pedersen 4, Derbyshire 5 (Tugay 73min), Santa Cruz 6
Everton: Howard 6, Neville 7, Jagielka 6, Lescott 8, Baines 6, Arteta 6, Carsley 6, Fernandes 6, Osman 6 (Vaughan 75min), Cahill 6, Johnson 7
Yellow cards: Blackburn: Dunn, Khizanishvili, Emerton, Pedersen
Everton: Howard, Arteta
Referee: A Wiley
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Attendance: 27,964