Crystal Palace 2 Aston Villa 2: Mat Kendrick's big match verdict
Feb 15 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
VILLA are fast becoming draw specialists on and off the pitch – after again sharing the spoils and being handed a potential quarter-final clash against lower league opposition.
But unless Martin O’Neill’s men convert this habit into winning games their three-pronged challenge for success – like this very tie – could still go either way.
At first glance a last-eight clash away at Albion or Reading looks as kind as can be expected at such an advanced stage of domestic football’s premier cup competition.
Although before Villa can think about progressing through their first quarter-final tie since 2000, they have to actually book their place in it – and as yesterday proved, it won’t be easy.
O’Neill warned of the Selhurst Park siege mentality since Neil Warnock’s strugglers went into administration and the partisan Palace punters generated an intense atmsophere throughout.
Considering they haven’t got a great deal to be glad about off the field at the moment the home fans belted out their signature of Glad All Over with great gusto in the face of their financial adversity.
But with the exception of injured top scorer Gabby Agbonlahor, Villa named arguably their strongest starting XI with the manager again proving how seriously he is taking knockout football this season.
There was even a surprise return for Stephen Warnock well ahead of schedule, Luke Young was preferred to Carlos Cuellar at right-back and Brad Friedel got the nod over regular cup goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Villa hoped their Premier League class would tell against a lower-graded team coming to terms with a potential relegation battle after their play-off push was undermined by a 10-point deduction.
And the visitors were the first to threaten when Ashley Young ambitiously appealed for a penalty after tumbling under minimal contact from Nathaniel Clyne in the penalty area as they chased Stiliyan Petrov’s pass.
