Match Summary

No Fernandes, and no explanation as to why he "did not travel"  (apparently, he was injured playing for Portugal... although the Official Website and other sources had reported "no new injury worries for Everton".. blah, blah).  So Tony Hibbert finally got his place back at right back and Phil Neville moved to midfield, with James Vaughan getting a second successive start up front alongside Andy Johnson.

Everton started strongly, full of intent and determination, and the reward came inside the first 15 minutes, a great Arteta free-kick form the left causing havoc, with Johnson getting a glancing touch that bounced through the crowd and popped up nicely for Joleon Lescott who had popped up nicely himself at the far post... a nod, a deflection off Balmer, and it evaded Sorenson's grasping clutch, floating just under the bar and into the net.  Lovely!

Everton were pulsating, and the travelling fans bursting, and it seemed for a few minutes that this could be one of those oh so rare occasions when Everton would really take the game to a shaking, quaking Villa.  Andy Johnson went down under pressure from Petrov... penalty?!?  Surely???  Apparently not...  A long rang shot from Vaughan flew fractionally wide, but the Blues simply failed to get close to the Villa goal again as the home side inevitably came more into the game, and the bounce of the ball started to evade the Blues.

But the Villains weren't happy at half-time, booing Martin O'Neill's players off the park as the possession stats told the story: 39% to 61% in favour of the Blues.

Gavin "just another game" McCann was putting a little bit too much aggression into his game and having a torrid time as a result, finally getting the booking he deserved after getting mugged by Arteta's cheeky flick. But it was a surprise when he failed to reappear after the break.  Everton were soon under pressure, Stubbs unfairly blown as Petrov leant heavily on him. Berger (McCann's sub) was well off target.

You have to hand it to Villa, they really threw everything bar the kitchen sink at Everton in the first 15 mins after the break. Some resolute last-ditch defending was needed on a couple of occasions as it looked a certainty that Villa would score amid a truly vibrant atmosphere in Villa Park.

But Everton started to get back into it, with a couple of good longer-range bangs from AJ sending the ball Sorenson's way for a change, much to the delight of the massed Everton horde behind that goal.  Everton were fighting well and doing a good job at disrupting Villa, but were crucially failing to play much joined-up football themselves, partly in response to the frenetic pace of the game, that was unrelenting.

Melberg, fouled Johnson, argued, got a yellow, but Arteta's free-kick was too far out and wasted.  Then there was a great break on for Everton, Vaughan finally getting the ball forward into Johnson's path, but he managed to get the ball back to Osman,. who totally wasted a glorious shooting chance.

Vaughan got the yellow card he was asking for with a far too determined lounging tackle — one too many for Referee Webb; time to pull him off, methinks?  Vaughan then beat the offside trap  but tried to shoot way to earlier and the result was utter rubbish.

And the goal that Villa had threatened finally came as they kept pushing forward.  Carew, came bearing in on Howard, who chose to block with his feet instead of diving on the ball with his hands, and risking a boot to the head.  The ball bounced back and Agbonlahor had no trouble finishing it off.  It was what the Villains had been screaming for since half-time and it was, to be honest,  fair reward for a tremendous onslaught that Everton had done superbly top resist. Just so maddening that it was af you know the fringing script, the stated all too clearly Everton would not be able to hold out.

Arteta had a free-kick and Vaughan should have done better, redirecting the header that flew wide. Arteta then got booked for a foul from behind, with Everton in serious danger of losing the game to the rampant Villians.  Why Moyes had not made a substitution 10 or 20 minutes from the end will remain a perennial mystery... guess he was fearful of how the crowd would scream if he pulled the wrong player off... or put the wrong one on!!!

Michael Kenrick

Match Report

Everton came close to returning to the top six but a spirited second-half revival by Aston Villa pushed them onto the back foot and forced them into conceding an equaliser with 10 minutes left.

In an Aston Villa spurred on by the threat of being sucked into the relegation dogfight, Everton came up against a side very much in their own image. Everton displayed no shortage of effort or ambition but they eventually succumbed to the sheer desire of the home team who ratcheted up the level of their performance in the second half and got their reward with an equaliser seven minutes from time.

That Villa should by rights have been 2-0 down at the break will probably go down as a footnote in the post-match media reckoning but the refusal on the part of the match officials to award Andy Johnson a nailed-on penalty after half an hour was as key to the result as was Villa's revival after the half-time interval. Yet again, though, the Blues were denied an opportunity from the spot because of Johnson's unfairly earned reputation.

With Manuel Fernandes a mysterious absentee, David Moyes was forced to shuffle his pack from the team that beat Arsenal a fortnight ago. Phil Neville moved into midfield and Tony Hibbert returned to the starting line-up at right back. Despite Nuno Valente's return to full fitness, Joleon Lescott kept his place at left back, with Alan Stubbs partnering Joseph Yobo once more.

Up front James Vaughan made his second start alongside Andy Johnson who had comes through his exploits with the England national side unscathed.

The game started at a frenetic clip and became a feature of a pulsating affair that, despite the fact that both sides were a little disjointed in the early going, was a great advert for entertainment in the Premiership.

The Blues, chasing a return to the top six following Tottenham's win over Reading the day before, clearly settled more quickly than their hosts and, after Leon Osman's speculative shot from distance had been easily gathered by Thomas Sorensen, they took the lead after a quarter of an hour.

Mikel Arteta deilvered a free kick from the left that evaded everybody before Lescott nodded it home by way of a slight deflection off his marker's head. It was the ex-Wolves man's first goal in an Everton shirt and it should have been the platform on which the Blues went on the win the game.

They certainly controlled the remainder of the first half to such a convincing degree that they deserved to go into the break further ahead but, after Stilian Petrov had had a rare Villa effort saved by Tim Howard, Vaughan unleashed a terrific shot from 25 yards that grazed the outside of the post and Neville saw a drive from similar range fly narrowly wide of Sorensen's other upright.

In between, Arteta had picked Johnson out brilliantly in the area with a slide-rule free kick but as he came to collect it Petrov scythed him down from behind before finally making contact with the ball. Astoundingly, referee Howard Webb waved play on with the large traveling contingent bellowing in protest from the stands.

Martin O'Neill clearly gave the Villa players a rocket up their backsides in the dressing room because they came out a different team in the second half. Everton didn't so much take their foot off the pedal, although they did show a lack of imagination at times with too many balls aimed for Vaughan to head on for AJ; instead, Villa raised their game to match that of the visitors and they had five efforts on Howard's goal within the first 10 minutes following the restart.

Carew in particular started to make a nuisance of himself and he was denied at close range first by Howard's parry and then by Stubbs' lunge as the Blues' defence just about held firm. Then, after a period of intense around the 70 minute mark, they carved out another chance but after Carew had flashed the ball across Howard, it hit Stubbs's thigh and the veteran defender hacked it clear.

At the other end, Everton were falling victim a lack of quality in the final third of the field and becoming increasingly restricted to long-range shots. Vaughan half-volleyed over, Lee Carsley tested Sorensen from outside the box and Johnson forced an awkward parry by the Danish 'keeper with a fierce drive as the game moved into the final 25 minutes.

Having defended so resolutely, though, Everton will have been disappointed with the manner in which the Villa equaliser arrived in the 83rd minute. As Howard charged off his line to meet the threat posed by Carew, he chose to go in with his legs rather than smother the ball with his arms and as it squirmed loose Gabriel Agbonlahor had the simple task of stroking it into the empty net past Yobo.

Both sides showed plenty of desire to go for the three points but neither was able to carve out another clear-cut chance in the 10 minutes that followed, although Vaughan steer a header wide when he might have done better.

Avoiding defeat away from home is always a positive result and in the context of Villa's second-half fightback it was a point well earned but I suspect that Moyes will be fuming at yet another penalty not given and annoyed at the fact that the equaliser was a fairly soft goal to concede. It increases the pressure to get all three points from Fulham on Friday and puts a little extra emphasis on the trip to Bolton in a week's time but this was a more than decent display by the Blues that, on another day, would probably have yielded a valuable win.

Lyndon Lloyd

Match Preview

Having played just once in the last four weeks, Everton prepare for the trip to Villa Park on Monday evening, the first of three games in eight days.

With Tim Cahill ruled out for the season and James McFadden still a couple of weeks away from full fitness, David Moyes has no new injury concerns since the win over Arsenal a fortnight ago.

Nuno Valente has recovered from a long-term injury and both Tony Hibbert and Andy van der Meyde came through recent reserve outings unscathed... although the latter whingeing in the press this past week will have done little for his prospects of making a rare appearance away from home.

And with Alan Stubbs's great form continuing against The Gunners and Joleon Lescott acquitting himself so well at left back, Valente will find it hard to walk back into the starting line-up.

Whether Moyes does go with an unchanged team will depend on his faith in James Vaughan.  The 18-year-old made his first start for the Blues against Arsenal and he will be hoping that he won't get the same treatment as that suffered by Victor Anichebe at the end of last year when he was dropped for an away game after scoring twice against Newcastle.

Despite all and sundry heralding Villa's chances under Martin O'Neill, the Midlanders have slumped to 14th and lie just four points above the relegation zone going into this one.  Indeed, they have won only once in their last six outings and scored just three goals, but did hold Liverpool to a 1-1 draw two weeks ago.

Everton's challenge will be to record consecutive victories for the first time since the beginning of September but have the momentum of having lost just once in the last eight as they continue the push for a place in Europe next season.

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Stats

The 201st meeting between Everton and Aston Villa sees both teams extend the record for the most common English league fixture in what is the 184th League meeting between the sides.  This is also the 96th match at Aston Villa between the sides.

Everton's record against Aston Villa is:

The last match between the sides saw Chris Sutton score at Goodison Park as Everton lost 0:1 in November.  The last match at Villa Park was the Per Krøldrup horror show, or the 1:4 defeat on Boxing Day in 2005.  Naturally, every Evertonian is hoping that this time we match the result from February 2005, when 2 goals from Leon Osman and another from Tim Cahill saw a 3:1 victory which was our first win at Villa Park since April 1987, against Aston Villa – we won 1:0 their in the 1989 FA Cup Semi final against Norwich City.

Being slightly behind in the overall series, Everton’s record away to Aston Villa is truly awful:

Everton are also slightly behind in their record for 2 April, so the omens don’t look too good:

The only Premier League match Everton have played on this day was a 1:5 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in the disastrous 1994 campaign which ended with “The Wimbledon Match”.  In fact, the last nine matches Everton have played on this day have all been away from home and they have yet to win (5 draws and 4 defeats), and have only won 1 of the 13 away matches, overall, they have played on this day!

This will also be Everton’s 186th match live on British television, and, despite a good run in live matches this season, they still have an awful record having won 58, drawn 45 and lost 85 of the matches shown live on TV!  This will also be the 8th time an Everton-Aston Villa match has been shown and Everton have only won 1 of the previous 7 matches shown live, with Villa winning the other 6.  The only win was the 4:1 victory at Goodison Park last season.

This match is also the 25th time Everton have been shown on Sky’s “Monday Night Football” program, with the club having an overall record, so far, of winning 8, drawing 7 and losing the other 9 matches – although Everton’s away record on “Monday Night Football” sees just 3 wins, with 4 draws and 7 defeats in the 14 away matches shown so far in the club’s history.

Milestones that can be reached this game:

·          If he starts, James Beattie will be making his 50th League start for the club.

Steve Flanagan

Match Report

May appear here later

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ASTON VILLA (4-4-2)
	Sorensen
	Bardsley
	Mellberg :73'
	Cahill
	Bouma
	Agbonlahor :90'
	Petrov
	McCann :44' (46' Berger)
	Barry
	Carew
	Young (41' Maloney)
	Subs not used
	Taylor
	Hughes
	Davis

EVERTON (4-5-1)
	Howard
	Hibbert
	Yobo
	Stubbs
	Lescott :90'
	Arteta :86'
	Neville {c}
	Carsley
	Osman
	Johnson
	Vaughan :79'
	Subs not used
	Wright
	Nasmith
	Vlaente
	Beattie
	Anichebe
	Unavailable
	Cahill (injured)
	McFadden (unfit)
	Fernandes (injured)

Premiership Scores
Saturday 31 March 2007
Liverpool	4-1	Arsenal
Bolton	1-0	Sheff Utd
Charlton	1-0	Wigan
Fulham	1-1	Portsmouth
Man Utd	4-1	Blackburn
Newcastle	0-1	Man City
West Ham	2-0	Middlesbro
Watford	0-1	Chelsea
Sunday 1 April 2007
Tottenham	1-0	Reading
Monday 2 April 2007
Aston Villa	1-1	Everton

Premiership Table
Pos	Team	Pts
1	Man Utd	78
2	Chelsea	72
3	Liverpool	57
4	Arsenal	55
5	Bolton	50
6	Tottenham	48
7	Everton	47
8	Reading	44
9	Portsmouth	43
10	Blackburn	40
11	Newcastle	37
12	Middlesbro	36
13	Man City	36
14	Aston Villa	35
15	Fulham	35
16	Wigan	33
17	Sheff Utd	31
18	Charlton	30
19	West Ham	26
20	Watford	20
After 2 Apr 2007