Carew puts Villa in Euro zone

THEY will probably be complaining about the extra workload and inconvenience of having to play on a Thursday night by the time they reach the group stages in the autumn.

But if competing in the Uefa Cup is the burden that many Premier League managers portray it to be, this game suggested that neither David Moyes nor Martin O'Neill regards European football as a poisoned chalice.

With only one European place available via the league, this meeting between the only two teams likely to claim it had the feel of an eliminator, but without a knock-out blow being delivered by either team, this race could ultimately be another that goes to the final day of the season.