A Duncan Ferguson goal four minutes from time was enough to cancel out Emile Heskey's early strike and earn the Toffees a vital point in their hunt for a coveted Champions League spot.
Going into the game the Toffeemen knew a win would secure the European football for the first time in ten years and move them a vital step closer to beating Liverpool and Bolton to the hotly contested fourth spot.
David Moyes' decision to rest Ferguson after the magnificent midweek victory over Manchester United in favour of record signings James Beattie looked to have backfired early on as he saw his team utterly dominated by the hugely inconsistent Midlands side.
The Everton faithful were in full chorus from the outset, fully expecting their side to repeat the heroics that so riled messrs Ferguson, Neville and Scholes three days earlier.
But their cheers were silent after just six minutes. Former Liverpool boo-boy Heskey latched on to Jermaine Pennant's purposeful throughball, took one touch and fired a low right-footed shot past Nigel Martyn, Goodision was stunned.
Pennant sparked a bright opening for the visitors, his pace down the right unsettled a half-fit Alessandro Pistone and his early crosses deserved more than just Heskey's goal.
An unfit and out of form Beattie squandered a glorious chance to pull Everton level ten minutes later. The £6million man headed wide from all of six yards with no defender in sight after Leon Osman's clever left-footed cross.
It was the kind of chance the bench-bound Ferguson would have buried in his sleep.
Birmingham enjoyed much the better of a bitty first half, while the air of expectation seemed to bear down heavier on too many Everton performances.
Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta harried and cajoled but their passing let them down on too many occasions.
Beattie looked short of confidence and touch and the usually sturdy back line of David Weir and Joseph Yobo seemed unable to cope with the size and power of the lively Heskey.
This was not what the Park End had paid to see and their groans of indignation let the home players know that more was expected in the second period.
Moyes wasted no time introducing Ferguson and his impact was almost immediate after the break. The big Scot's aerial presence unsettled Kenny Cunningham and when a loose header dropped, Osman's left-footed swipe was only just touched wide by a scrambling Maik Taylor.
Medhi Nafti was guilty of a Beattie-style miss on 55 minutes. The excellent Pennant again found the on-loan midfielder with a top-class cross, but he wastefully headed into the ground and the ball bounced high over the Everton bar.
And that was the last significant chance of the half. Birmingham tried to run down the clock with an array of time-wasting tricks and Everton just could not get going.
But with a little over five minutes left who else but Ferguson popped up with the all-important equaliser from an Everton corner.
Weir slipped a delightful pass through to an unmarked Cahill. The Australian international was denied not once but twice by Taylor and from the rebound Marcus Bent's cross shot was met by the left foot of Big Dunc and the entire ground erupted in ecstatic celebration.
The point may not have been a wholly deserved one, or the performance on a par with those that have made this a truly memorable season for Moyes' side.
But with Liverpool and Bolton hot on their heels it could prove as vital as any they have picked up this term as they edge ever closer to their Holy Grail of fourth place.
Man of the Match: Jermaine Pennant - The on-loan City winger gave the Everton defence a hard time all afternoon and put in a number of fine crosses that could have earned his side more than a point.