Villa show battling qualities

Aston Villa 3 Everton 3:WARM APPLAUSE rolled from all four sides of the ground at the final whistle, although it is Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal players who will take the greatest pleasure from this result. An absorbing contest produced six goals and no shortage of entertainment, yet for Aston Villa and Everton the reality is that the solitary point each gleaned here is not enough to keep Wenger's side and qualification for the Champions League within touching distance.

Fifth position looks like being as good as it can get for both clubs and, while an inability to break up the top-four monopoly hardly qualifies as a failure, there will be little sense of achievement at Villa or Everton if the prize for their efforts this season is a place in the new Europa League.

The desperation to keep Arsenal in sight was evident yesterday as Everton raced into a two-goal lead before Villa showed their resilience to recover.

It was a compelling encounter and a fitting sequel to the game at Goodison Park in December, when Villa secured a remarkable 3-2 victory after Ashley Young scored deep into stoppage time following another breathless 90 minutes.

This time it looked as if Nathan Delfouneso might be Villa’s hero but Martin O’Neill was left holding his head in his hands after the substitute arrived in the six-yard box a split-second too late to meet John Carew’s glancing header from James Milner’s cross.

It was a reprieve for Everton but it was one that the visitors arguably deserved, despite O’Neill’s claims to the contrary. The Villa manager had looked on with a mixture of frustration and despair as Everton twice opened up a two-goal lead. Not that he should have been unfamiliar with the sight of Brad Friedel picking the ball out of the back of the net. A back four sorely missing the injured Martin Laursen has now conceded two goals or more in the last seven matches.

The other damning statistic for O’Neill to digest is Villa have managed only five victories at home all season, fewer than any other club in the Premier League’s top 14.

That record never looked like improving from the moment Tim Cahill wriggled clear of Curtis Davies before heading the impressive Steven Pienaar’s corner against the crossbar. The Villa defence froze as the loose ball dropped and Cahill made no mistake with his second attempt, nodding in to double Everton’s lead and leave Villa on their knees with the game barely out of the first quarter.

Villa, who have now gone 10 games without a win, had looked just as suspect in defence four minutes earlier. Jo caused consternation in the area with a meandering run and, when the ball broke to Leighton Baines following Zat Knight’s failed attempt to clear, the left-back delivered a low centre that begged Marouane Fellaini to score his fourth goal in five matches.

Villa sided needed some hope to cling to before the interval and Carew provided it in the 33rd minute. The industrious Milner, who had a hand in all three Villa goals, arrowed a diagonal centre towards the near post that Joleon Lescott was unable to clear. Barry managed to get enough on the ball at the far post to turn it in the direction of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carew, whose physical presence caused Everton havoc, did the rest with the minimum of fuss.

Back came Everton, the effervescent Pienaar cutting inside Luke Young on the Villa right before sweeping a curling shot from around 20 yards wide of Friedel, to puncture the home side’s momentum. It put Villa right back where they had been. At least that would have been the case had Milner not provided a superb and instant response, the former Leeds and Newcastle United player swerving a 25-yard free-kick round the Everton wall and inside Tim Howard’s near post.

Moyes slumped into his seat and threw his head back as if he knew what was coming. Eleven minutes later Milner’s lofted pass encouraged Stiliyan Petrov to tear into the penalty area and, when Lescott raised his boot in an attempt to clear and caught the Bulgarian on the side of the head, Howard Webb, the referee, pointed to the spot. It seemed harsh, with Lescott seemingly looking at the ball and not Petrov, but it was indisputable there was contact and Barry converted emphatically.