Everton 2 - 2 Aston Villa

Everton 2-2 Aston Villa: Carew pegs back Toffees

Updated: April 27, 2008, 6:21 PM UK

The race to reach the UEFA Cup is set to go to the wire after a dramatic Goodison Park showdown between Everton and Aston Villa ended 2-2 in the Premier League.

Everton led twice, with Phil Neville's deflected effort and Joseph Yobo's close-range finish.

• O'Neill hails battling qualities

But Villa just refused to give up the chase, and Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew grabbed vital equalisers in a remarkable late spell of three goals in six minutes.

The gap is still three points, with the midlanders having a better goal difference.

But crucially Martin O'Neill's men have what looks the slightly easier run-in with Wigan at home and West Ham away, on the last day.

Everton must still face Arsenal at the Emirates with Newcastle on Merseyside for the last match. It will be touch and go for either side, but Villa look to have the momentum.

Everton had Leon Osman back in their midfield after a hip injury, which allowed skipper Neville to revert to full-back with Tony Hibbert dropping to the bench from the side beaten by Chelsea last time out.

Mikel Arteta was also back, on the bench, after returning from a week of treatment back home in Spain on his stomach and groin problems.

Aston Villa, with 15 goals in their last three matches which has seen them wipe out Everton's goal difference advantage, were not surprisingly unchanged from the side that beat local rivals Birmingham 5-1 last weekend.

The importance of this match was not lost on anyone. Both sides played instantly at a high tempo, launching into tackles and searching for the opportunities to grasp fifth spot, rather than be left in the Intertoto Cup.

Gareth Barry, occupying a floating role on the left, and Carew saw efforts go wide, Villa having the better of much of the first period midfield exchanges.

Everton's best effort in the early stages came when Ayegbeni Yakubu surged down the left, holding off and then bustling past Nigel Reo-Coker before firing in a shot that Scott Carson could only palm out.

But Manuel Fernandes mis-hit his effort badly wide as he tried to fire home the rebound, a rare clear opening at that stage against Villa's solid back-line.

Carew's clever chip almost put Ashley Young clear in the box, before the former Watford player crashed a free-kick against the bar after Phil Jagielka's rash challenge on Agbonlahor.

For Everton, Andrew Johnson's right-sided run created yards of space, but his low cross was behind both Steven Pienaar and Yakubu as they raced into the box.

With the tackles still flying in, referee Phil Dowd was inevitably soon involved.

Stiliyan Petrov was booked for a late challenge on Osman before Yakubu was cautioned for dissent and Lee Carsley saw yellow for a lunge at Petrov.

Everton emerged after the break with genuine purpose, looking for width and pace to unsettle Villa's defence.

Olof Mellberg, Martin Laursen and Zat Knight had given very little away, but after 56 minutes they were undone by Yakubu's strength and Neville's rare shot.

Yakubu's first touch sent him powering away from Knight on the left, but his cross was wayward until the ball fell into Neville's path 25 yards out on the opposite flank.

It would have been easy to lash the effort over the bar, but Neville saw only his second goal of the season and his effort flicked off Laursen and past Carson.

After 65 minutes, Moyes felt he could risk Arteta, who had not trained for a fortnight and only arrived back from Spain on Saturday. He replaced Fernandes.

Villa sent on attacking players Patrik Berger and Marlon Harewood for defenders Knight and Wilfred Bouma, the need for goals now critical for Villa's European dreams.

And after 80 minutes they succeeded. Barry's corner swirled into the box and Agbonlahor was free eight yards out to side-foot the equaliser past Tim Howard's flaying hands.

Everton's response was to inject the extra strength and height of Victor Anichebe for Johnson after 82 minutes, Everton now in greater need of a goal.

And it came two minutes later when Carsley's clipped cross to the far post was met by Yobo, who slammed the ball into the roof of the net.

Everton thought they were home and dry, but two minutes later Villa were level again, Barry's cross being headed in by Carew, under intense pressure from Joleon Lescott.

Everton were still not finished and Yobo's header was saved by Carson.

Harewood and Anichebe were booked for a flare-up, the tension electric as the teams fought to a standstill.

O'Neill hails battling qualities

Everton and Aston Villa were left on a knife-edge as the race for Europe reached boiling point at Goodison Park.

And after the dramatic conclusion, O'Neill said: 'To be still in it with two games to go is pretty remarkable for us.

'Now we have two difficult games. Everton's programme is also tough.

'But my view is that if you are three points clear with two games to go then you are in the sort of position I would like to be in.

'Of course it is going to be tough. We have Wigan playing with renewed vigour, and we must then go to West Ham while Everton finish at home to Newcastle.

'We had to fight back twice in the second period from a goal down, and I felt it was a brilliant effort by our team.'

He added: 'We have scored a lot of goals this season, mostly through very good play. And in this one we showed great determination to stay alive, and that was particularly pleasing.

'Considering the amount of tactical changes we made, I felt the players adapted very well. We made changes, throwing on attacking players. What was the point in not doing that.

'The lads had firepower and creativity, and we got one equaliser with a lot of forwards on the pitch.

'Then we went behind again and we had to change tactics almost with each attack in those final minutes. But we coped and we deserved something from the game.

'In the last couple of minutes it was the only time I felt we might lose it, but having fought back twice that would have been really harsh on us.'

Everton boss David Moyes was obviously disappointed to see his side lose the lead twice.

He told Sky Sports 1: 'I thought it was a good game, a really good encounter. I'm disappointed we didn't take the three points, especially after we got the second goal. That was disappointing, you're always at your most vulnerable when you score, so they say, and that was the case today.

'I thought when we got the goals we were doing well with good momentum. I'm just disappointed we couldn't hang on to it.

'We are three points ahead [of sixth-placed Villa] with two games to go and games are hard at any time of the season. But it's a good point, a hard point. I thought if we had got three today we could have secured fifth place but it looks like it is going to go all the way.'