Bolton 1, Aston Villa 1: Bill Howell's big match verdict
Apr 27 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail
Villa still require that one away win to equal their best in the top flight in their history – this was their first away draw in the league since May.
It was never going to be a classic, not between the 16th and 20th-best teams in the division going into the game on form.
A fluke of a goal put Villa ahead and in keeping with their miserable run of late they were unable to keep a clean sheet.
Three months ago Villa would have gone ahead in similar fashion, weathered the storm and broken in the last minute to snare the points.
Blackburn in early February now seems a long time ago.
Have Villa simply forgotten the art of winning?
They now face two teams at home who are battling for their lives in the bottom four. The comfort is that both Hull City and Newcastle are the only clubs now below them in the current form table.
Trips to Fulham, who are resurgent under Roy Hodgson and have won twice as many home games as Villa, and Middlesbrough, who have won as many, bring an end to a season which once offered so much.
Villa, in competitive action for 40 weeks, or 280 days, are limping over the line.
They created few chances at the Reebok, although Bolton created fewer still. Villa were close to breaking the deadlock when Ashley Young and John Carew combined well with the latter sliding a perfect pass for James Milner.
Milner slipped inside Matt Taylor, checked on to his left foot but saw his shot blocked by Andy O’Brien.
As with much of Villa’s luck of late, a bullet of a shot from Gareth Barry was blocked by team-mate Curtis Davies.
Bolton, who play far less of the long-ball stuff under Gary Megson than they are ever given credit for, really should have taken the lead when Kevin Davies’ magnificent early outside-of-the-boot ball released Taylor down the left. His low cross was deflected by Carlos Cuellar to an unmarked Fabrice Muamba six yards out but the former Blues midfielder scuffed his attempt completely.
An element of fortune handed Villa the lead.
Emile Heskey fed Young whose curling cross eluded both Carew and Gary Cahill and sneaked into the net off the far post for his first goal since scoring against Bolton in December.
Thirty-five seconds after the restart Kevin Davies fired wide from Johan Elmander’s knock-down.
O’Neill will not have enjoyed Bolton’s equaliser. Barry barged into Cahill allowing Taylor to float a free-kick to the edge of the Villa box.
Kevin Davies won the flick-on ahead of Carew, Stiliyan Petrov and Curtis Davies, who came forward to try to win the ball. O’Brien crucially beat Cuellar to the second header and nodded to an unmarked Tamir Cohen who fired home.
The home fans were claiming a hugely optimistic penalty for a nothing shoulder barge by Barry which sent Cohen tumbling.
Twice Villa almost won it in the dying stages when Carew sent a left-foot curler whistling past the far post and then saw his header tipped over.
