Sheff Weds              (0) 0 Everton                 (0) 0 FT

The post-DC era is proving tortuous for Sheffield Wednesday as they again drew another blank without their inspirational Italian.

For DC, read Paolo Di Canio, scourge of referees and every so often Premiership defences and the Owls are clearly missing their star striker, who remains top scorer with three goals after a quarter of the season.

Di Canio was handed an 11-match ban by a Football Association disciplinary commission on Friday following his now infamous ref rage shove on Paul Alcock four weeks ago.

With the 30-year-old crowd favourite missing, Wednesday have gone three games without finding the net as they struggle for any kind of form up front.

Going on their current performances and at their present rate, Danny Wilson's side will be lucky to score again by the time Di Canio returns from his suspension on Boxing Day.

Ritchie Humphreys is at least trying admirably to fill the enormous void, particularly as he appears to be playing on his own due to the lack of form of partner Andy Booth.

With no Benito Carbone either, due to the recurrence of an ankle injury, the Owls and the opposition net have become strangers.

Everton's problems in front of goal are also increasing with every game as they have now been unable to put the ball over the line in three of their last four matches.

All six of their strikes in the FA Carling Premiership this season have come away from Goodison Park, where they have gone five straight games without a goal, with their troubles now clearly manifesting themselves on their travels.

It is a worry for both sides, who will soon find themselves in the bottom three if their present plight continues.

There were chances, particularly for Everton, as keeper Kevin Pressman pulled off stunning saves to deny Duncan Ferguson in the seventh minute and especially £4.5million Ivory Coast international Ibrahim Bakayoko early in the second half.

Bakayoko and Olivier Dacourt also went close with fierce drives during a minor purple patch in the opening 10 minutes of the game, and bar a rainbow appearing midway during the first half, there was little in the way of colour or spectacle in either penalty box.

Referee Jeff Winter did produce six yellow cards, four for Everton in the space of 24 second-half minutes as David Unsworth, John Collins, Marco Materazzi and sub Danny Cadamarteri all went in the book, joining Dacourt and Wednesday's Danny Sonner earlier in the match.

The golden chance of the game, though, came in the dying moments of injury time as Alex Cleland cleared a point-blank Booth header off the line, while Humphreys' tame follow-up from eight yards was straight at Thomas Myhre, his only worthwhile stop of the game.

Humphreys had earlier twice beaten Myhre with two cracking, curling 25-yard efforts, but both just flew past the post.

So it came as no surprise when, at the whistle, the rain-drenched crowd from both ends let out a chorus of boos and catcalls, a fitting finale to a goalless bore draw between two teams who do not know how to find the net.

Sheff Weds: Pressman, Atherton, Jonk, Walker, Booth, Humphreys, Briscoe, Hinchcliffe, Thome, Alexandersson, Sonner.

Subs not used: Newsome, Whittingham, Clarke, Sanetti, Magilton.

Booked: Sonner.

Everton: Myhre, Cleland, Ball, Dacourt, Watson, Unsworth, Collins, Ferguson, Hutchison, Materazzi, Bakayoko (Cadamarteri, 70).

Subs not used: Ferrard, Grant, Ward, Milligan.

Booked: Dacourt, Unsworth, Collins, Materazzi, Cadamarteri.

Attendance: 26,592.

Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).