Source: Telegraph
Aston Villa keep Hull City mired in relegation quicksand
Phil Brown's men fought hard on Monday night, too hard in the case of Geovanni and Daniel Cousin, whose half-time altercation provides another cause for deep concern for Hull.
Without Geovanni, who was promptly taken off, Hull lacked a creative touch but they pushed Villa all the way. Martin O'Neill's hosts were grateful to John Carew's first-half strike to lift them back above Aston Villa into fifth.
Hull manager Phil Brown seeks edge as relegation dogfight heats upThe battle to avoid the drop is far more interesting than the race for fifth. At the end of a Bank Holiday weekend when all the bottom teams lost, Hull would have loved a point but remain only three points clear of Newcastle and Boro. Hull, for whom Boaz Myhill starred in goal, will be praying for a draw in next Monday's Tyne-Tees Derby.
Even before Carew's goal, Hull's hopes had taken a knock when their captain, Ian Ashbee, limped from the fray. Embodying the visitors' commitment, Ashbee attempted to play on after coming out the worst in a shuddering collision with James Milner.
The tackle was 50-50, honesty personified on both sides, but deeply painful. Caught accidentally on the knee as his own boot burrowed into Milner's midriff, Ashbee leapt up and cleared but soon collapsed. A hush descended on Villa Park, the fans having winced at the impact.
A stretcher arrived for Ashbee but Hull's captain and heartbeat refused to leave his colleagues, knowing how much this game meant to their Premier League survival. His leg stiffening up, Ashbee hobbled on for a couple of minutes before accepting he could contribute no more.
His determined stance drew sympathetic applause from Villa fans as, an anguished figure, he made his slow journey to the tunnel.
Ashbee had provided Hull's best first-half moment, a volley wide but Villa's counter-attacking class soon began to tell. When Gabby Agbonlahor was brought down by Michael Turner 25 yards out from the Holte End goal, Milner swerved his free-kick over the wall but it was too close to Boaz Myhill, who tipped the ball over.
Villa Park was then treated to two moments of mirth, starting when the announcer called for the "driver of the Hull City coach to go back to the coach''. Hull had certainly not parked the bus on the pitch; Geovanni and Richard Garcia looked to support Cousin at every opportunity, although tensions were rising between Geovanni and Cousin.
When O'Neill then showed an immaculate first touch in controlling a wayward clearance, even Brown applauded.
The good humour briefly disappeared when Cousin, frustrated at overrunning the ball, leapt into a two-footed lunge on Curtis Davies. The malice was obvious and the only surprise was that Davies escaped serious injury and that Cousin escaped punishment of any form.
Cousin's challenge was so dangerous it deserved dismissal and a three-game ban. Mike Dean somehow ignored the offence.
Punishment of a different sort soon befell Hull after 33 minutes, partly self-inflicted. When George Boating, formerly of this parish, dithered in possession, Stiliyan Petrov nipped in, nicking the ball to Gareth Barry. In a link-up that will have delighted the watching Fabio Capello, Barry then sent Ashley Young racing down the inside-left channel.
These are the situations Young loves best, attacking a backpedalling defence with space to go either side of his attempted marker, Sam Ricketts. Hull's full-back did not know which way to show Young, a player capable of delivering a killer pass with right foot or left.
Young cut inside, sweeping the ball right-footed into the centre. Carew timed his run well, being level with the last defender as Young released the ball. The Norwegian's finish was clinical, the ball turned confidently past Myhill.
Carew still sneaked a quick look at the linesman, noting with glee the flag remained down, before letting rip with his celebration. His 14th goal of the season made him Villa's top scorer, moving him ahead of Agbonlahor.
The Villa fans loved it, chanting "you're going down with the Baggies'' at the sizeable Hull support. When Geovanni then sent a free-kick hurtling 20 yards wide, Villa's choristers added: "That's why you're going down''.
It would have been worse for Hull but for exceptional saves by Myhill to deny Agbonlahor before the break and then Barry moments after. Inbetween came the altercation between Geovanni and Cousin that Brown addressed by withdrawing the moody Brazilian.
Nicky Barmby had replaced Geovanni and, as Hull's fans screamed "attack, attack, attack'', Manucho came on for Kevin Kilbane. Villa, though, looked the likelier to score. With 12 minutes remaining, Agbonlahor was denied by an astonishing save from Myhill, the keeper somehow scooping the Villa forward's close-range header over.
