Source: Telegraph
Aston Villa rally to keep Everton to a draw
The VIP party taking place in the penthouse of the Premier League skyscraper will not be crashed this year.
This compelling encounter highlighted the strength of England's elite division, vibrantly so with the excitement of the football on show, particularly when the ball was in the mesmerising sway of Ashley Young or Steven Pienaar, but it similarly drew a dark line under the division's inherent weakness. To push properly for fourth, Aston Villa and Everton know they must invest heavily in the summer, more than the respective £40 million and £22 million spent this term.
Both managers accepted this was the day the Champions League dream died. 'One of us had to win to keep it going," said Martin O'Neill, whose Villa side now lie eight points behind Arsene Wenger's men. 'It's a result that definitely suits Arsenal. But we shouldn't just give up the fight." Such sentiments were echoed by David Moyes, whose Everton are a point further adrift. 'You don't give up the chase until it is mathematically impossible but being realistic it will be hard," observed Moyes.
Two outstanding managers have moulded two attractive teams. Villa are all pace and power while Everton mix the scenic journey through midfield with the occasional Route One ball to Jo. Two well-intentioned sides still have work to do, substantial work, primarily in deepening their squads to compete with the Big Four.
'It's difficult," O'Neill added. 'Those sides have been there, got the wherewithal. Manchester United house 75,000 and Arsenal 60,000. The other two teams (Chelsea and Liverpool) get 42,000-43,000 and have been bankrolled for some time. Liverpool have a great tradition (of spending) and Chelsea have just recently. It is hard but, even so, it shouldn't mean we just down tools and give up the fight.
'I believe Villa are resurgent. We were fantastic today, going forward we were an absolute dream. Defensively, we were not so clever. We have to improve defensively." Zat Knight and Curtis Davies were both caught out by Everton, lured out of position by Jo for Marouane Fellaini, Tim Cahill and Pienaar to break into Villa's box.
O'Neill's decision to field a weakened team in the Uefa Cup at CSKA Moscow, preferring to rest his leading lights in an ultimately failed pursuit of fourth, stirred dissent on the Holte End. 'I took the criticism for not going as strongly in the second game against CSKA Moscow," said O'Neill.
'It was in the last 32. It's not as if we were in the quarter-finals. At that stage, we still had the chance of the old utopia - getting into the top four. Our run since then has nothing to do with resting a couple of players. We have fought valiantly this season. These boys are young but will continue to improve."
Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor have given everything this season, run themselves into the ground for Villa. Like on Sunday. 'Young performed brilliantly on the wing again," enthused O'Neill. Agbonlahor was so determined to play that he ignored a tight hamstring. The heart was willing but the flesh was weak; eventually Agbonlahor hobbled away and will have a scan today.
'Villa and Everton have tried to push the top boys hard and come up a little short," said Moyes, then explaining what was required. 'It's money. The gap might just be too big."
If not the Champions League, the Europa League beckons. On this thrilling evidence, both sides will certainly add lustre to Uefa's lesser competition. Everton were faster out of the blocks, racing into a 2-0 lead within 22 minutes. Holding off Knight, Jo slid the ball to the lively Leighton Baines, whose low cross was emphatically turned in by Fellaini: 0-1.
One swiftly became two. Pienaar swung a corner across the Holte End, concern gathering on the faces of Villa fans. Everyone in football knows Cahill's danger at such set-pieces. Having won his tango with Davies, Cahill thundered a header against the bar and was then fastest to the loose ball: 0-2.
Never the calmest of observers, O'Neill was seized with angst, raging against the referee Howard Webb for perceived mistakes. The fourth official received a real ear-bashing. Poor Stuart Atwell. What a season he has had: awarding Reading a 'ghost goal", disallowing Derby County goals, ignoring Lucas Neill's horror challenge on Lee Cattermole, and now faced with an erupting Irish volcano.
The sparks coming out of O'Neill lit a fire within Villa. After 32 minutes, James Milner's cross caused chaos in Everton's box, the ball ricocheting between Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and Agbonlahor before John Carew rammed the loose ball in: 1-2.
Everton responded superbly as Villa Park was treated to a Premier League classic. Good work down the left by Jo, Tony Hibbert and Phil Neville released Pienaar to run across the box, rolling Luke Young before unleashing an irresistible shot past Friedel: 1-3.
Now Villa responded. When Cahill fouled Barry, Milner bent a fabulous free-kick around the Everton wall to set the Holte End believing: 2-3. When Lescott accidentally caught Stiliyan Petrov while attempting to hook the ball clear, Villa fans screamed for a penalty, Webb concurred, and Barry drilled his spot-kick straight down the middle and in: 3-3.
Moyes was furious at the decision, his ire intensifying when Davies was not penalised for a far more obvious offence, a push on Jo. Moyes said there were 'questions" over all Villa's goals but declined to criticise Webb. 'The FA have got enough of my money," Moyes said. 'I know they are skint and want some more." More? Everyone wanted more after this rich spectacle.
