Aston Villa v Everton 22/11/97 3.00Aston Villa (1) 2 Everton (1) 1 FT Milosevic 36 Speed 12 (pen) Ehiogu 56 Ugo Ehiogu came in from the cold to give Aston Villa the confidence-boosting victory they were looking for before Tuesday's UEFA Cup encounter with Steaua Bucharest - and piled on the pressure for Everton manager Howard Kendall. Ehiogu has been axed for the last two matches with Villa manager Brian Little preferring England Under-21 skipper Riccardo Scimeca at the heart of his defence. But he was recalled because of the ankle injury suffered by Gareth Southgate when on England duty last weekend - and he responded with the second half winner. It was just the tonic Little had been looking for after Villa had suffered home defeats before their previous two sojourns into Europe at the hands of Wimbledon and Chelsea. He had admitted that defeat against Everton would be ``disastrous'' and the alarm bells were ringing when Gary Speed gave his side hope of a first away league win in 11 months via an early penalty. But Villa recovered and went onto produce one of their most convincing performances on their home soil in the Premiership this season. They were inspired in midfield by Mark Draper who is recapturing the form which made him part of Glenn Hoddle's plans at the start of last season. Savo Milosevic also was a handful for the Everton rearguard - in front of Benfica coach Graeme Souness whose new club were recently linked with the Yugoslav striker. However, the signs are bleak for Everton, despite a commanding performance at the back from Craig Short, and with this result they have slipped to the foot of the table. After their early promise they were constantly back-pedalling and Kendall will be looking nervously over his shoulder unless results improve quickly. Villa opened brightly with Mark Draper prominent in the early stages and twice testing Everton 'keeper Neville Southall with a low drive and then an effort on the half volley. But Everton quickly assumed control, breaking through the midfield at will, and Villa 'keeper Michael Oakes made one good save to keep out a low shot on the turn from Gary Speed before they went ahead in the 12th minute. Speed's through ball released Graham Stuart and referee Uriah Rennie had no hesitation in awarding a penalty after the former Chelsea midfield was chopped down by Alan Wright. Speed made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick, sending Oakes the wrong way for his fourth goal of the campaign. Everton then enjoyed a purple patch and Oakes clung onto a curling free-kick from Nick Barmby who was back in action after six weeks out of action with a groin injury. But Villa weathered this uncertain spell and were the better side in the second part of the opening 45 minutes. Brian Little' side had strong appeals for a penalty turned down when Wright looked to be brought down just inside the area by Danny Cadamarteri. Southall then tipped over a powerful Collymore header after good play by Milosevic and there was an inevitability about the equaliser when it arrived in the 37th minute from Milosevic. A corner from Steve Staunton was headed on by Collymore at the far post and Milosevic prodded the ball home from close range for his third goal of the campaign. Draper continued to pepper in shots from all angles and he stung Southall's hands with another powerful drive and then fired only inches past the post from 25 yards. Villa camped in the Everton half in the early stages of the second period and it came as no surprise when they went in front in the 56th minute. Again the source of the goal was a Staunton corner and this time Ehiogu was allowed a free header which he buried past the exposed Southall via the underside of the bar. Villa were now rampant and Collymore thought he had scored his first goal at Villa Park since his £7 million move from Liverpool in the 58th minute. His 20-yard swerving shot deceived Southall and squirmed under the body of the veteran 'keeper into the net - and was the signal for Collymore to run to the touch-line and hug manager Brian Little. But to his massive disappointment referee Rennie disallowed his effort after Milosevic had strayed into an offside position. Everton finally broke out and Oakes twice came to Villa's rescue inside 60 seconds, turning a powerful shot from Stuart around the post and, more spectacularly, tipping over a bullet-like header from Ferguson. 
Aston Villa: Oakes, Charles, Staunton, Nelson, Ehiogu, Wright, Scimeca, Draper, Milosevic, Yorke, Collymore. Subs not used: Grayson, Joachim, Hendrie, Murray, Rachel. Booked: Wright, Staunton. Everton: Southall, Barrett (O'Connor, 74), Hinchcliffe, Williamson (Farrelly, 79), Short, Bilic, Stuart, Barmby, Ferguson, Speed, Cadamarteri (Oster, 66). Subs not used: Ball, O'Toole. Booked: Hinchcliffe, Barmby. Attendance: 36,389. Referee: U D Rennie (Sheffield). |
