DAYS like that balmy afternoon in August when Everton rakishly dismantled Aston Villa with a vintage display of free-flowing football in the Midlands have got a lot to answer for.

Caught up in the euphoria of a blistering start to the season, Evertonians could have been forgiven for thinking any struggling opponents would also be as ruthlessly squashed.

But that was then, before the leaves had turned brown, refereeing standards had turned sour and the predictable bite of injuries had turned the pressure on Everton’s small squad.

QPR might have been rock bottom and down on their luck, but the odds of the Toffees turning the screw on Mark Hughes’ men as they did at Villa Park should always have been long.

Shorn of their midfield heart without Marouane Fellaini and Darron Gibson, and against a side so badly in need of a change in fortune, this was a point which may not feel so catastrophic in the long run.

They slipped, stumbled and skidded on the rain-lashed surface but thanks to Phil Jagielka’s heroic performance Everton were not washed away at Loftus Road – even though Lady Luck finally took the hosts into her embrace.

The absence of Steven Pienaar for next weekend’s Merseyside derby – caused so frustratingly by his sending off for a non-existent second bookable offence – will hurt the blue half of the city most acutely today. But there are positives to take from a draw which sees Everton remain in fourth place in the Premier League despite being off form and under-strength.

Initially it seemed like David Moyes’ black-clad side were going to quickly assert their dominance. They immediately put QPR on the back foot and forced two successive corners, but as the ball broke from the second delivery Junior Hoilett nipped in ahead of Phil Neville and ran almost the length of the pitch before his shot fortuitously spun off the covering Leighton Baines and looped past Tim Howard. It was the sort of goal which a winless side that is so desperate for a break craves.

The Londoners might have struck again when Adel Taarabt capitalised on Howard’s slip to play a dangerous ball across goal from which Bobby Zamora was just inches from connecting, although Baines’ astute positioning helped to distract him.

Everton looked short on protection in midfield without Fellaini’s commanding presence, and it briefly seemed they would be overwhelmed by the wealth of attackers in blue and white, but they composed themselves and forced a free-kick just outside the area which saw Nikica Jelavic force a smart diving save from goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

The expensively assembled hosts were not about to surrender their upper hand easily though, and went close again when Ryan Nelsen headed over the bar from Spanish playmaker Esteban Granero’s incisive delivery.

It looked like QPR had adjusted far better to the greasy surface and frantic tempo, but then Everton got their own slice of fortune. Pienaar took a delicious free-kick and Sylvain Distin was left criminally unguarded in the area to score with a header which ricocheted into the net off Cesar.

Cue a flurry of activity. Jelavic was denied a penalty after he seemed to be fouled by one-time Blues target Stephane M’Bia in the area, then Jagielka rattled the crossbar with an emphatic header from Pienaar’s corner.

Although they could credibly have been ahead at half-time, Everton would not have deserved it. Too often they were disjointed and largely failed to provide a frustrated Jelavic with useful service.

Victor Anichebe had toiled with little effect on the right flank during the first half and was injured in an aerial collision near the break, so it was little surprise when he was swapped for Steven Naismith with the second period in its infancy.

The Scot’s first few passes were rusty and awry, but he at least began to find space with some canny movement even if he couldn't help Everton rediscover their customary zest.

Then disaster struck. Pienaar had been booked for a clear foul on Hoilett and warned for barging clumsily into Ji-Sung Park. However, only ref Jon Moss will know quite how he then interpreted the South African’s innocuous challenge on Jose Bosingwa minutes later as a yellow card.

Alas he did, and the playmaker was sent off and ruled out of the Merseyside derby next weekend.

An already frustrating afternoon looked set to become a woeful one.

Incensed Everton tried to rally, and the subdued Kevin Mirallas began to show flashes of the form which has excited supporters since his switch from Olympiakos in the summer. Jagielka was close again with a close range header which was parried by Cesar and as Leon Osman cutely sent the rebound back into the area, Jelavic fired over.

If the referee knew he had erred with Pienaar’s shocking dismissal, he went some way to atoning when he gave Seamus Coleman the benefit of the doubt as the full-back appeared to fell Hoilett in the area.

Undeterred, the hosts piled on the pressure and the diminutive winger forced a magnificent diving save from Howard with his goal-bound strike.

Everton had to weather 30 minutes of pressure to earn their point, and that resilience in itself should provide some comfort ahead of the looming derby, even if the Blues are struggling to play the swash-buckling football which lit up their opening games and must nip their habit of falling behind early in the bud.

Anyway, the real light at the end of the tunnel will be the sight of a certain lanky Belgian warming up on the Goodison pitch before next Sunday’s game.