A late Gabriel Agbonlahor goal saw Aston Villa take home a barely deserved point from a lively draw at Goodison this afternoon.It was a thoroughly impressive and much improved Everton performance and Leon Osman deservedly opened the scoring after 18 minutes. The home side then had a clear penalty shout dismissed following a quite blatant trip on Leighton Baines.
A moment of magic from Villa's Stiliyan Petrov levelled the fixture shortly after half-time - his stunning 30-yard strike bringing Villa back into a game they did not deserve to be in at all. Everton responded well to that setback, and were awarded a penalty following Fabian Delph's foul on Phil Jagielka.
Leighton Baines made no mistake from 12 yards, but Gabriel Agbonlahor's late header denied Everton the win they deserved.
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The game was preceded by a protest staged by the Blue Union, voicing their collective dissatisfaction at the running of the club. It proved a success for the group, with over 1,000 fans marching from Spellow Lane to the director's entrance to the stadium.
Whether you agree with the protest or not, you have to commend the Blue Union for taking action - and for doing so in the right manner. The protest was done in the right way - peaceful and as dignified as a protest can be. A video of the protest can be seen here.
The marchers sent a message to chairman Bill Kenwright by chanting "let go, if you love the club..." along their route, although his appearance on the big screens during the match was greeted with cheers after an initial chorus of boos.
Anyway, on to on-the-pitch matters.
The side that had stolen 3 points at Ewood Park was shaken up, to say the least. Some of the changes had been enforced, as Victor Anichebe and John Heitinga had picked up injuries whilst playing for Nigeria and Holland respectively. Ross Barkley was on the bench after featuring for England U21s in midweek, whilst Tony Hibbert was selected at right-back in favour of Phil Neville.
In the wake of Mikel Arteta's departure, Phil Jagielka took on the role of captain. Both new signings - Royston Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi - were only fit enough for the bench. Seamus Coleman made a very welcome and quicker than expected return from injury and Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was also handed a starting berth.
All that meant that the side was; Howard; Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Rodwell, Fellaini, Osman, Bilyaletdinov; Cahill. Both new-boys were listed amongst the substitutes, the full list was; Mucha, Neville, Drenthe, Barkley, Stracqualursi, Gueye, Vellios.
Although starting without a recognised striker, Everton assumed the initiative straight from the off. Leon Osman had a penalty shout turned down inside the first minute, Darren Bent headed off his own goalline from a Phil Jagielka header and Shay Given saved well from Osman.
Our dominance paid off when, after 19 minutes, Leon Osman slotted home a pass from Tim Cahill. Everton were well on top and both Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini went close with long-range efforts. Villa offered very little throughout the first 45 minutes, with a Barry Bannan strike the closest they came to a goal.
Indeed, we really should have been given the chance to extend our lead but referee Michael Oliver failed to spot a blatant trip that brought to a halt a marauding run by Leighton Baines.
The decision not to award a penalty meant Everton headed into the dressing room at the break with a deserved but all too slender 1-0 advantage. We had dominated proceedings, and so it was of course inevitable that Villa would equalise.
And that's exactly what they did. In stunning fashion as well. Bulgarian Stiliyan Petrov picked up the ball 30 yards from goal and sent in an unstoppable strike. 1-1. The goal came after Villa's best period of the game, and they might have scored a few minutes earlier had it not been for an outstanding tackle on Gabriel Agbonlahor by Sylvain Distin.
Everton quickly responded and Tim Cahill, who had one of his best games since before the Asian Cup back in January, saw his header instinctively palmed out by Shay Given. In the resulting scramble, Fabian Delph committed a foul on Phil Jagielka and this time a penalty was awarded.
Leighton Baines tucked away the penalty - never in doubt. 2-1.
A few minutes later Royston Drenthe was introduced to the Goodison crowd, coming on to replace Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Needless to say, the Dutchman received a rapturous welcome from the terraces and seemed to be buoyed by his reception.
He gave us all a glimpse of his frightening pace, robbing Alan Hutton of possession and tearing down the wing. With Drenthe on one wing and Coleman on the other, it was the first time in a lng while that we had genuine pace on both flanks.
It lasted for about 5 minutes, though, as the impressive Coleman, who had terrorised Villa's left-back, was replaced by Ross Barkley.
The visitors drew level once again on 83 minutes. Marc Albrighton's cross caught out the static Sylvain Distin and Gabriel Agbonlahor rose to head home.
Yeah, whatever Gabby. Doesn't make up for the fact that you have a girl's name.
A third Everton change was made as Tim Cahill was replaced by Apostolos Vellios, and the Greek forward almost snatched the points at the death brought a fine save out of Villa goalkeeper Given.
It finished 2-2, a result that was not reflective of a fluid, strong and impressive performance from the home side. Villa are fast turning into a bogey club for us - and, as the fantastic Mickey Blue Eyes on Bluekipper writes: "It's difficult to avoid the notion that everything about the Brummy club is repellent, most of all the notorious crackpot worst of their fans."
So I guess the good news is, we don't have to play them again for a while. Up next, Wigan Athletic. COYB.
StickyToffee Player Ratings: Howard 6, Hibbert 8, Jagielka 6, Distin 6, Baines 8, Coleman 8, Rodwell 7, FELLAINI 8, Osman 7, Bilyaletdinov 6, Cahill 7.
Subs: Drenthe 6, Barkley 6, Vellios 6.
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