Aston Villa got off to a bright start in their 3:00 PM kickoff against visiting Newcastle United, but ultimately couldn't sustain it and wound up hanging on for dear life to come away with a 1-1 draw. It didn't look as though the hosts would have any problem with the Magpies in the first half of the match, with Gabriel Agbonlahor putting Villa 1-0 ahead with an assured finish past Tim Krul and Darren Bent coming very close to extending that lead when presented with an open goal in the 25th minute.
Aston Villa Vs. Newcastle, 2011 Premier League: Villa Hang On In 1-1 Draw
He would come to regret that miss, as Newcastle came storming back in the second half, scoring when Leon Best nodded in his own rebound (Shay Given did well to keep the first out, but it would have taken an absolutely Herculean attempt to block the second, which he nearly did anyway). From then on Newcastle looked the more likely to come away with the win, with Given instrumental in denying them just that in the dying moments of the game when Yohan Cabaye looked as though he'd scored.
So, at the end of the day, both Villa and Newcastle remain undefeated, but both will be rueing the chance to have picked up three points. A draw isn’t a particularly unfair result, but it’s difficult not to look at this Aston Villa club and think that it could be much more than what it is now.
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