Everton have now moved up to eighth position in the Premiership after scoring two late goals in front of 35 155 fans.
The Bafana Bafana midfielder was substituted in the 85th minute when the score was still 1-1.
There were no goals in the tightly contested match played between Benni McCarthy’s Blackburn and Liverpool, as the Cape Town-born striker was marked out of the game and fouled on three occasions in the first half.
Early in the second half he had a shot blocked and was then twice ruled off side, only to be fouled again in the 81st minute.
Just before the final whistle, the club’s top goal scorer was replaced in a tactical move.
The injured Aaron Mokoena was not considered for selection.
Burton O’Brien’s neat left-footed second-half goal at Plymouth was just what Sheffield Wednesday needed to continue their winning ways in the Championship.
As early as the opening minute, he had a free kick saved, and after Plymouth took the lead, the forward curled a shot into the bottom left corner to guarantee the 2-1 victory.
However, Southampton’s Andrew Surman was not as lucky as his side conceded a last-minute goal to Charlton Athletic at the coast.
The Johannesburg-born midfielder, who was substituted in the 68th minute, had a quiet match.
And in League One, Just Miller was certainly not his usual self as Port Vale wilted to Huddersfield Town’s first-half onslaught. He was replaced just after half time with the score at 3-1 and this was the result. Vale is now in deep trouble in the relegation zone with a difficult few months ahead.
The same cannot be said for Glynn Hurst’s League Two Bury. After an indifferent start, his team is now picking up some well-earned points and currently sits just below the play-off positions.
The former Amaglug-glug player scored the opening goal against Barnet from close range, and following a number of off-side decisions, assisted a teammate for the third. The score was 3-0.
Bally Smart watched from the bench as Milton Keynes Dons held on for a 1-1 draw at Wycombe, despite having two men red carded.
Dons remain top of League Two, and Smart will be back in action soon as four of his teammates were also yellow-carded.
In the Conference, there was a mixed bag of results as Mark Arber’s Stevenage continued their winning ways, defeating Northwich 2-0, but Warren Goodhind suffered a defeat when Forest Green Rovers overcame Ebbsfleet United by the same score line.