expressandstar.com

Substitute John Carew came off the bench to salvage a point for Villa as both teams finished with 10 men in a closely-fought contest at Goodison Park.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov had put the Toffees ahead in first-half injury time with a cool finish from inside the box but Carew, who had just come on for James Milner, levelled within a minute of the restart.

Bilyaletdinov saw red in the closing stages for a late lunge on Stiliyan Petrov but Villa were reduced to 10 men themselves at the death, when Carlos Cuellar picked up a second harsh yellow card.

Boss Martin O’Neill made two changes from the side which defeated Sunderland on penalties in the Carling Cup with Brad Friedel, making his 200th consecutive Premier League appearance, and Steve Sidwell returning for Brad Guzan and Nigel Reo-Coker.

Veteran shot-stopper Friedel was called into action early on, to tip Yakubu’s looping cross over the Villa bar.

Villa struggled to retain possession against the Toffees and found themselves on the back foot during the early stages of a contest which failed to live up to last season’s three barnstorming battles.

Midway through the first-half there was a case of mistaken identity, when Stephen Warnock was wrongly booked for a foul by Stiliyan Petrov on Yakubu.

The Nigerian had a great chance to put his side ahead just before the half-hour, when the striker was picked out by Johnny Heitinga inside the box only to head just beyond the upright.

Villa’s full-backs combined to create their best chance of the first half – Cuellar heading across the box to Warnock whose skewed volley crept agonisingly beyond the post.

But it was David Moyes’ men who went ahead a minute into first-half stoppage time.

Yakubu ushered Cahill’s cross from the right hit into the path of the arriving Bilyaletdinov, who calmly slotted inside the right post.

The timing could not have been worse but Villa responded in the best fashion possible, equalising within a minute of the restart.

Warnock found Agbonlahor with a cross from the left, the Villa striker saw his shot saved by goalkeeper Tim Howard but substitute Carew – just on in place of Milner – fired in the rebound to make it four in his last four games against the Toffees.

Both sides had chances to win it and it took a fine challenge from James Collins to dispossess Yakubu, as the Everton forward moved menacingly towards Friedel’s goal.

Down the other end, Petrov’s deflected drive fizzed narrowly over the bar before Gabby Agbonlahor headed the resulting corner narrowly wide at the back post.

Villa were forced to endure a barrage of pressure in the closing stages as the home side searched for a winner, Yakubu heading Neill’s cross just over and substitute Louis Saha drilling a shot just beyond the post.

But Everton finished the game with 10 men, when Bilyaletdinov saw red for a dangerous foul on Petrov.

But within a matter of minutes referee Lee Probert had evened things up, handing Cuellar what looked a harsh second yellow card for a challenge on Yakubu.

Unlike last season’s corresponding fixture there was to be no last-gasp goal drama, however, as Villa held on for a deserved point.

See Also:

• Sign up for Fantasy Football 2009-2010 - win £2,000 in cash, with other prizes up for grabs
• Share you news, photos, audio clips and videos with the Express & Star
• Click here for our Villa Blogger’s thoughts