At least Kevin MacDonald can go into his meeting with Randy Lerner with a smile on his face. Whether MacDonald wants to take over as manager or, perhaps more to the point, whether the Villa owner is interested in appointing him, remains to be seen, but three points here have gone some way towards repairing the damage inflicted after a chastening week that included a 6-0 thumping at Newcastle and elimination from Europe.
Everton were the more accomplished side and laid siege to the Villa goal at times but Luke Young’s splendid early strike, when he curled a left-footed shot beyond Tim Howard, proved the difference. The relief at the final whistle was tangible and not only among the Villa supporters. MacDonald, who has been in charge on a caretaker basis since Martin O’Neill walked out five days before the start of the season, looked emotionally drained.
Lerner made a visit to the home dressing room afterwards to congratulate MacDonald and the players. The Villa chairman will start interviewing for a successor to O’Neill during the international break and he has told MacDonald he will need to know whether he wishes to be considered for the position by tomorrow morning at the latest. The 50-year-old is comfortable with that timetable, although he remains none the wiser about whether to throw his name forward.
“Mr Lerner came in to say well done to the players,” MacDonald said. “He also passed on a comment to say well done to myself and Tony [McAndrew, MacDonald's assistant], because he knows the emotions we had been going through [on the touchline].
“He said: ‘Take your time and enjoy your evening, think about what we have said before and speak to him tomorrow evening or at the latest Tuesday morning.’ But he didn’t put any pressure on me, which I was pleased about.
“I still don’t know whether it’s for me or not. I have thoughts where I want to do it and I’ve had other thoughts that this isn’t what my life is about. I have also got to believe that I am going to be good enough myself. That’s something that I think about deeply. I’ve got to believe that I am good enough to make sure Aston Villa stays where it is and, hopefully, progresses, whether that’s with some more younger players or whatever.”
The Villa caretaker, who was more animated on the touchline than in previous matches, would have been breathing more easily if his side had taken one of the opportunities they spurned on the counterattack. Tim Howard, the Everton goalkeeper, thwarted John Carew and Ashley Young on a couple of occasions but the most inviting chance for Villa to double their lead fell to Marc Albrighton. With Howard stranded, the young winger blazed horribly over from six yards out.
Everton left the pitch crestfallen and well they might. David Moyes’s side played like the home team, taking the game to Villa and doing everything but score. The statistics said it all: Everton controlled 68% of possession and had 18 corners to Villa’s four. It was as much as Villa could do to get out of their half at times and, in the closing stages, they were hanging on for dear life. Deep into injury time, Brad Friedel denied Louis Saha with two fine saves.
Plenty of Everton chances had also come and gone before the frantic finale. Steven Pienaar struck the crossbar in the 18th minute with a brilliant curling shot while Saha, whose arrival for the ineffective Jermaine Beckford gave Everton some much-needed thrust up front, drew a smart reflex save from Friedel on the hour. Three minutes later Jack Rodwell found space in the Villa penalty area but his glancing header from Mikel Arteta’s free-kick flashed inches wide.
All of which was of little consolation to Moyes, who has presided over Everton’s worst start to a league season in 11 years. “If that’s the case, it’s another milestone I’ve achieved,” said Everton’s manager, who admitted his team were guilty of over-elaborating at times. “When you don’t feel as though you are scoring freely, you try and be over-precise. But we did enough to come away with something, if not more than one point.”
Premier LeagueAston VillaEvertonStuart Jamesguardian.co.uk
