Aston Villa 2, Stoke City 2: Bill Howell's big match verdict

Mar 2 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O’Neill admitted that defending of the calibre his side produced against Stoke City yesterday would not have been committed by the top four.

O’Neill was at a loss to explain his side’s lack of ability in keeping Stoke at bay.

The Irishman blamed over-confidence for lapses that saw plenty of attacking positions come to nothing.

But he was crest-fallen by the way they let slip a two-goal lead in the final two minutes of the game.

“It would be hard at the moment for me to understand why,’’ he said.

“At 2-0 with less than five minutes left, there is only thing that the opposition are going to do. I would do the same. We didn’t deal with it well enough.

“We have won matches in the last minute or two. But against Stoke we’ve actually conceded.

“We did it against them six months ago in the same way, the second game of the season, from a throw-in, to lose 3-2.

“It is particularly galling because we were for the most part excellent.

“I think top four sides would see it through. I’m talking about the normal top four sides. Have we learnt a lesson? I hope so.”

O’Neill was happy with Villa’s performance before the break but less pleased afterwards.

“We were brilliant in the first half, we deserved the goal,’’ he said.