Aston Villa 1, Tottenham Hotspur 1: Mat Kendrick's Villa match stats and player ratings
FRIEDEL 8
No chance with equaliser, made a string of saves, including the best of the bunch from Kranjcar.
BEYE 7
Worked hard to nullify Kranjcar. Did basics well. Made vital interceptions.
CUELLAR 9
Grabbed assist for the goal, put his body on the line to protect Villa’s goal, burst forward too.
DUNNE 7
Brings out the best in his defensive partners. Only partially cleared difficult ball for the goal.
L YOUNG 8
Returned to his default position of left-back and kept Lennon on a tight leash for most part.
MILNER 7
Little v Large with Crouch in the second half summed up typical desire and commitment.
PETROV 7
Calm and patient in possession but struggled to stem the tide when Tottenham upped game.
REO-COKER 7
Pushed and probed first half but the midfielder’s latest comeback was marred by an ankle injury.
A YOUNG 7
Presence of Downing on bench prompted him to swing over delicious deliveries.
CAREW 7
Mixed bag. Neat touches but one of those games where Big John did not threaten enough.
AGBONLAHOR 8
Capped an impressive all-round performance with a poacher’s goal to make it eight for season.
SUBSTITUTES:
Sidwell (for Reo-Coker, 71) fired wide with first touch 6
Heskey (for Carew, 75) almost got late winner with glancing header 6
Not used: Guzan, Downing, Delph, Gardner, Clark.
TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Gomes; Corluka, Bassong, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto; Lennon, Huddlestone, Palacios (Jenas, 66), Kranjcar (Keane, 78); Crouch, Defoe. Not used: Alnwick, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Rose.
BOOKINGS: Huddlestone (foul, 82) – Tottenham.
CROWD WATCH 8
Biggest crowd of the season – and noisy Spurs fans – created a cracking atmosphere. Attendance: 39,866.
REF WATCH 7
P Dowd (Staffordshire): Got big calls correct but let a couple of fouls on Agbonlahor go.
THE MANAGER 7
Not bad, but if we’re being picky, Martin O’Neill might have made changes earlier with Spurs on top.
GAME RATING 7
Plenty of incident and goalmouth action to entertain fans and armchair viewers.
INJURY WATCH
James Collins (groin), Nigel Reo-Coker (ankle), Stephen Warnock (illness).
WHO’S NEXT UP FOR VILLA?
Portsmouth (a) Carling Cup quarter-final, tomorrow, 7.45pm.
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