Everton 2 Aston Villa 2:ONLY THE reactions to an enthralling duel could divide the Uefa Cup aspirants. They were sufficient to reveal who holds the momentum in the fight for fifth place between Everton and Aston Villa. A three-point margin with two games remaining says it is advantage Everton for the Uefa Cup qualifying position.
Though David Moyes and Martin O'Neill agreed with that assessment, the lead appears as perilous as Everton's run-in is problematic. Arsenal away and improved Newcastle at home represent the remaining fixtures for Moyes' side, while Wigan and West Ham await Villa.
Everton have spent the past six weeks squandering an initiative they had toiled so hard to achieve. Here they condensed their recent failings into 11 minutes. Ahead through the third fortuitous goal of Phil Neville's Goodison career they responded to an equaliser from Gabriel Agbonlahor with a well-crafted, superbly executed finish from Yobo.
Less than two minutes later, and with Goodison still reverberating, Everton allowed John Carew to level again. O'Neill's reward for bold substitutions was richly deserved. The prize could soon be measured in terms of the Uefa Cup, the carrot that may persuade Gareth Barry to extend his contract and not head for Anfield or Stamford Bridge this summer.
The home side made a determined start, with Yakubu Ayegbeni forcing Scott Carson into a flying save that invited a more convincing response to the rebound than Manuel Fernandes delivered. Villa then moved into the ascendancy, their three-man midfield dominant, Carew belligerent and Ashley Young almost providing the lead with a 20-yard free-kick that cannoned off the bar.
Until the 56th minute the meeting of the supposed fifth and sixth finest teams in the Premier League had served only to emphasise the widening of the gap between the "big four" and the rest. Then Neville converted a Yakubu cross that had drifted behind Steven Pienaar, albeit with a generous deflection off the chest of Martin Laursen, and Goodison was treated to an open, high-risk cup tie. The Everton captain has borne the brunt of crowd criticism during the club's recent stumble and he milked the breakthrough in a manner reminiscent of a former team-mate, David Beckham.
Agbonlahor's equaliser, a half-volley from a Barry corner after escaping the attention of Leon Osman, provoked a swift response from Everton and when Yobo volleyed Lee Carsley's cross into the roof of Carson's goal, Europe beckoned for Moyes. Before his side could touch the ball again, however, it was back in the balance, Barry afforded the freedom of their half to cross for Carew to head into the bottom corner.
