Aston Villa's England contingent stir mixed emotions for Martin O'Neill

Yet mixed in with a concern for his players' wellbeing ahead of the Premier League season home straight will have been a genuine hope that they shine on the big stage, and so perhaps wound up in the mixed emotions he will have experienced would have been a twinge of disappointment that it didn't quite work out that way.There certainly wasn't a shortage of interest beforehand. With Agbonlahor again selected, Villa provided England's starting strike pairing, having signed Heskey last month.There was also the hope that Ashley Young, who has been lighting up the Premier League this season, would feature in some form, and even James Milner. Barry, meanwhile, is now something of a fixture in the England midfield.The opening minutes' endeavour to some extent justified the hype and expectation. Five minutes in, Barry sent in a cross to Agbonlahor, who volleyed just wide of the Spanish goal. Barry did similar off of a Stewart Downing cross.Heskey was also making a nuisance of himself. Although he has spent much of his career criticised for hitting the deck with greater frequency than Frank Bruno – justified to some degree on this evidence – he was unlucky to have been ruled offside when genuinely brought down just outside the area by Gerard Pique in the thirteenth minute.But beyond the early exchanges, Villa's men did not make the massive impact perhaps unfairly expected of them.Barry was assured in midfield, certainly, but Agbonlahor and Heskey were not helped by a lack of forward balls. Barry and Heskey were replaced at half-time by Frank Lampard and Peter Crouch, and Agbonlahor was subbed for Carlton Cole with 15 minutes left.Thankfully for O'Neill, sadly for the fans, neither Ashley Young nor James Milner were deployed from the bench, while a toe injury forced Luke Young, who was also called up to the squad last Saturday, to return to the Midlands early.

Source: Telegraph