Villa snatch draw in six-goal thriller
Gareth Barry scored the crucial penalty for Villa
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Sunday, 12, Apr 2009 09:51
Aston Villa came back from two goals down to draw 3-3 with Everton in a thriller at Villa Park.
The Toffees led 2-0 through Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill, before John Carew reduced the deficit.
Steven Pienaar looked to have given Everton the win in the second-half before James Milner's free-kick and a controversial Gareth Barry levelled the scores.
The point ends a run of four straight defeats for Villa and sees them remain in fifth spot, a point clear of Everton.
The Toffees, who knocked Villa out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals, looked more likely to clinch another victory in the opening exchanges with Phil Neville's half-volley tipped around the post by Brad Friedel.
And they grabbed the lead on 22 minutes when an unmarked Fellaini tapped in from close range after Leighton Baines' low cross.
That sparked an onslaught from the Toffees with Tim Cahill's deflected shot deflected wide while Stephen Pienaar flashed a shot inches wide.
And they doubled their lead on 26 minutes when Cahill headed a corner from Pienaar onto the bar before nodding in the rebound.
Martin O'Neill's side eventually woke up and the partnership of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carew started to tick. The duo combined when Carew flicked the ball onto Agbonlahor whose header was saved by Tim Howard.
And it was Carew who reduced the deficit when he capitalised on the Toffees' failure to clear Gareth Barry's cross by poking the ball into the net on 36 minutes.
Villa continued their dominance after the break with Ashley Young's appeals for a penalty turned down when he was tripped by Fellaini, before the winger blazed a free-kick over.
But David Moyes' men restored their two-goal lead on 53 minutes when Pienaar ran onto Leon Osman's step-over and rifled a shot past Friedel for his first goal of the season.
Their advantage lasted just two minutes though as Milner made it 3-2 with a stunning 25-yard free-kick that went in off the post.
The talking point arrived on 66 minutes when Howard Webb awarded the home side a penalty after Joleon Lescott caught Stiliyan Petrov in the face with a bicycle kick. Barry stepped up and slotted in the spot-kick to level the scores.
David Moyes' mood worsened a minute later when Jo's penalty appeals were rejected when he was hauled down by Curtis Davies in the box.
Martin O'Neill's men came agonisingly close to completing the comeback in the dying minutes when substitute Nathan Delfouneso failed to connect with Carew's flick-on, before the striker was kept out by Howard in stoppage time to round off a thrilling encounter.