Defensive strength was the order of the day at the Britannia as Aston Villa failed to break down a typically resolute Stoke side who had chances to beat Martin O’Neill’s top four chasing side.
Aston Villa forward John Carew led an incredible second half comeback that saw the Villa Park side triumph over a resurgent Reading side to book a place in the FA Cup Semi Finals
Royals striker Shane Long had put Brian McDermott’s side two goals to the good to shock their Premier League opponents but Martin O’Neill clearly had something to say in the dressing room at half time and his side battled back superbly after the restart.
Ashley Young scored two minutes into the second half and John Carew added a second and a third before the hour mark and the big Norwegian front man completed his hat-trick in the dying minutes.
Manchester United clinched the Carling Cup thanks to a winner from Wayne Rooney. Sir Alex decided to rest the in form England man but he was called upon when Michael Owen was taken off shortly before half time.
Nemanja Vidic conceded a penalty early on which James Milner calmly slotted home to give the Villa Park side the lead however Michael Owen leveled matters soon afterwards with a finish from just inside the penalty area.
Wayne Rooney then settled matters with 15 minutes left to go headed past Brad Friedel after good work from Dimitar Berbatov and Luis Antonio Valencia.
Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa side thrashed Burnley at Villa Park. Steven Fletcher had given the visitors the lead but a brace from Stewart Downing, his first Premier League goals for the club, and goals from Ashley Young, Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor helped the midlands outfit to a crucial three points in their charge for a Champions League spot. Once again they’re Turf Moor opponents struggled away from home and fell to their 13th defeat from 14 matches on their travels. Martin Paterson added a consolation goal late on for the Clarets.
Manchester United were unable to overcome a determined Aston Villa performance at Villa Park and had to play for over an hour with ten men after Nani was given a straight red card.
Tottenham and Aston Villa played out a White Hart Lane draw that neither side would be happy about as the dropped points gave other top four chasers an edge.
We love Darius Vassell, whats not to love, a Premier League footballer who decided to go out on a limb and try out life in another part of the world in order to revive his career instead of taking a step down to the Championship. Anyone who has visited his excellent blog would know just how down to earth and amusing his posts can be, if you haven’t already visited CLICK HERE. What seems to work so well for the blog is the whole “Englishman in a strange land” setting that really seems to hit home with many ex pats and also somehow brings top level footballers a little nearer to being just like us ‘normal people’. We highly recommend you visit his site on a regular basis and you will soon find yourself addicted much as we have become.
Below is a snippet of a recent entry that will have you immediately hooked on the adventures of a former England International in Turkey.
A quick fire brace from Gabriel Agbonlahor helped the Villa Park side to a comfortable victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage and helped Martin O’Neill’s side to put themselves back on track in their top four hunt.
Arsenal were unable to break down a resolute Aston Villa side at Villa Park as Martin O’Neill’s men played good possession football and the north London side struggled to impose themselves on the home side.
Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers played out an incredible Carling Cup Semi Final second leg at Villa Park. Blackburn Rovers had gone two goals up thanks to a brace from Kalinic but Martin O’Neill’s side battled back to superbly before another comeback from the Ewood Park side bounced back only to be beaten by a flurry of late goals in a truly memorable cup tie.