Aston Villa withstood a second half Tottenham onslaught to gain a point in this Barclay’s Premier League clash.
Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the home side the lead early on in the first half, but Michael Dawson finally broke Villa’s stubborn resistance with 14 minutes to go.
Spurs pressed for a winner but in the end both sides had to settle for a point.
Harry Redknapp made just the one change to the side that demolished Wigan 9-1 on Sunday. Jonathan Woodgate missed out a groin problem and was replaced by Sebastian Bassong.
Villa made two changes. Stephen Warnock was absent through illness and Habib Beye took his place, and Nigel Reo-Coker was given a midfield berth ahead of Steve Sidwell.
The game began scrappily, with Tottenham looking to get Aaron Lennon on the ball and Villa doing likewise with Ashley Young.
It was the away side that had the first shot of the game, and it was very nearly the opening goal. Niko Kranjcar let fly with a volley that stung the palms of Brad Fiedel.
Six minutes later at the opposite end Martin O’Neill’s team took the lead.
John Carew won a corner and the set piece was played in by James Milner. Carlos Cuellar met it with a header that Benoit Assou-Ekotto cleared on the line. Unfortunately for the Spurs defender he could do little as Gabriel Agbonlahor managed to scramble the loose ball home in the midst of a throng of Tottenham defenders.
Villa were exerting much of the early pressure and wingers Young and Milner looked energetic and vibrant. Lennon by contrast, struggled to get into the game and replicate the devastating impact he had against Wigan last weekend.
With 20 minutes on the clock Tottenham came oh so close to restoring parity.
Kranjcar was felled and Tom Huddlestone elected to shoot from the free kick. His drive hit the wall and fell kindly for the in form Jermaine Defoe whose volley was saved by Brad Friedel. Peter Crouch strode forward and put his foot through the ball, undoubtedly thinking the net was about to ripple. Cuellar had other ideas and kept the lanky striker’s shot out with a superb goal line clearance.
After this initial flurry of goal mouth action the pace of the game dipped a bit, and both sides were limited to half chances for the remainder of the half. Huddlestone, Reo-Coker and Agbonlahor all fashioned chances that did little to trouble either keeper.
Defoe was the sole exception. After 28 minutes the striker - who hit five against Wigan in Spurs’ last league outing - instinctively volleyed at goal from Kranjcar’s chipped pass. It was off target, but not by much.
Tottenham raced out of the blocks in the second half, and Kranjcar again came close to scoring with a venomous shot made possible by some neat interplay between Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch.
The Croatian’s effort was an indicator of what was to come in the second period.
Spurs bore little resemblance to the side witnessed in the first half. They laid siege to Friedel’s goal at times and the majority of the second period was played in Villa’s half.
That Villa remained in the lead for so long was indicative of how well O’Neill’s defenders played - especially Beye, who thwarted Spurs on a number of occasions. On 63 minutes he blocked a goal bound shot from Defoe and repelled a number of set pieces.
Steve Sidwell was sent on by O’Neill with 20 minutes left to try to wrest some control of this contest back. The midfielder almost doubled his side’s advantage. The former Chelsea man hit a first time shot which arrowed wide.
Defoe thought he had finally broken down Villa’s tough resistance with 72 minutes gone, poking home in the aftermath of a Huddlestone shot. To the striker’s despair it was ruled out for handball.
With 14 minutes remaining the equaliser eventually came, and it was from an unlikely source. Assou-Ekotto whipped the ball into the penalty area and it fell kindly for Michael Dawson, who smashed his volley into the back of the net.
It was just what Tottenham deserved and a winner for Redknapp’s side didn’t seem totally out of the question.
Lennon did his best to fashion chances, taking on his marker and cutting inside from the wing on numerous occasions in the last 15 minutes. The winger won a corner on 79 minutes from which Bassong header over the bar and with four minutes left Defoe couldn’t get a telling touch on his tempting cross.
Substitute Emile Heskey very nearly gave Villa a barely merited victory in stoppage time. Young’s cross was met by the bulky frontman whose glancing header wasn’t far over.
Defoe could have done the same for Tottenham a minute later, making himself some space and having a go from outside the box. To the relief of those inside Villa Park it was just wide.
The final whistle blew shortly afterwards, to the relief of Villa and the frustration of Spurs. The North London side go third, but they have nonetheless been brought down to earth slightly after reaching cloud nine against Wigan last time out.
Reviewed by Unknown
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12:21 AM
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