Christian Benitez and Barry Ferguson fired in-form Birmingham into the FA Cup fifth round as the Blues defeated Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday. Alex McLeish's side are now unbeaten in 15 matches in all competitions after their first away victory over Everton since 1957. Everton, who were last season's FA Cup runners-up against Chelsea, were well below their best and never recovered from Benitez's early goal. Ferguson added a second for Birmingham before half-time and Leon Osman's second half strike for Everton wasn't enough to keep their Wembley dreams alive. It was Ecuador striker Benitez who set the tempo in the seventh minute. After a free-kick broke down for the home side, Ferguson ran clear and superbly switched play to the right wing with a fine ball to Keith Fahey. Fahey then delivered a wonderful cross into the box and Benitez headed past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard. Everton were unbeaten in six matches going into this encounter, including a draw against Arsenal and a fine win last weekend against Manchester City. However, for most of the first half, they played like a team devoid of ideas and inspiration. Birmingham's discipline and work ethic has seen them rise to eighth in the Premier League and McLeish's team again demonstrated their capacity for hard work as they crammed into midfield and starved Everton of space. The likes of Phil Neville, Steven Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini grew increasingly frustrated at the lack of attacking opportunities and the home side's day got worse after 40 minutes when Birmingham scored a contender for goal of the season. Fahey brought Sebastian Larsson into play on the right wing and although his cross looked poor, Ferguson created something from nothing when he dummied and stepped over the ball in a move which completely threw the Everton defence. James McFadden beautifully clipped the ball back to Ferguson who then curled past Howard as the Everton defence stood and watched. Everton announced before the match that they had signed Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos on-loan until the end of the season and he may be getting his chance sooner rather than later after their failings here. Mikel Arteta had been named in Everton's squad for the first time since he ruptured his cruciate ligament playing against Newcastle last February, yet Moyes resisted the crowd urgings to bring him on at half-time to try and improve Everton's attacking composure. But it became clear after the break that Everton were not going to exit this season's FA Cup without some resistance and they dragged themselves back into the contest with a superbly worked finish from Osman after 56 minutes. Leighton Baines brilliantly beat Stephen Carr's lunge and laid off to Pienaar and after his simple pass along the edge of the box found Osman, the midfielder placed past Hart to make it 2-1. It ignited the Goodison Park crowd and Everton side poured forward. Saha missed two close opportunities as he firstly steered a shot over the bar before hitting the post shortly afterwards. As City counted down the minutes until the end, Fellaini shot straight at Joe Hart when he should have scored and an injury time effort from the Belgian somehow shaded wide when it had looked certain to sneak in. 