Inspired Whelan stuns sorry Villa

MARTIN O’NEILL apologised to around 300 Aston Villa supporters in midweek and offered to buy them dinner, after fielding a deliberately weakened team in the UEFA Cup in Moscow.

There should be a collective sorry from the whole of his team after the careless way they tossed away the chance to move closer to dining at the Champions League top table.

O’Neill sacrificed his UEFA Cup life on the plastic pitch of the Luhzniki Stadium on Thursday to rejuvenate his team and they repaid him by failing to last the distance against Tony Pulis’s bruisers, conceding two goals in the final six minutes to round off a miserable week in the most desperate manner.

Just 24 hours after Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted for the first time his fears that his side will not squeeze into the Champions League, Villa had the Frenchman by the throat in the closing stages here.

They were set to boast an eight-point advantage over their closest rivals as the returning absentees from Moscow combined to provide goals for Stylian Petrov and John Carew. But, having established such a convincing advantage, the manner in which they completely switched off and allowed goals from Ryan Shawcross and substitute Glen Whelan, left O’Neill feeling like he had been defeated for the third time in eight days.

“We are more than disappointed,” said O’Neill. “We are pretty devastated. We have not put in a better 45 minutes at Villa Park all season than we did in the first half. We were so in control of the game and maybe there was a touch of over-confidence creeping in there.”

Two weeks ago, Villa had two trophies and a top four Premier League finish in their sights, but Champions League qualification is all that remains now after the FA Cup exit to Everton and the inability of O’Neill’s reserves to keep the UEFA Cup flame burning. Five games without a victory will do little to improve their state of mind or O’Neill’s humour.

“I have been questioned every day since making the decision for the game in Moscow,” he groaned. “Do people who field weakened sides in the Carling Cup get pilloried in the same way?

“It was not a financial decision to go for the Champions League over the UEFA Cup. It was because I want the kudos of being in that competition.”

Yet it should have been so different from the moment Bulgarian midfielder Petrov’s first Premier League goal since April last year broke the deadlock, after James Milner’s clever pass.

Villa should have had more goals as Stoke’s attempt to stifle the service from Milner and Ashley Young completely back-fired and Carew’s spectacular second in the 78th minute just deepened the visitors’ plight.

O’Neill is most assuredly a student of the game and it was only a few months ago that he was muttering that feels Stoke will survive in the Premier League this season. Part of his reasoning was generated from the last-minute 3-2 defeat Villa suffered at Stoke back in August.

Yet not even the most one-eyed Stoke supporter could have seen any route back into this with 10 minutes remaining, but Pulis’ side have enjoyed ruffling feathers this season and they will continue to do so, buoyed by a belief that they can retain their status over the remaining games.

“Not a single person outside Stoke-on-Trent believes we will stay up,” he said. “We have had to deal with that all season, but we feel we can do it. They are confident in the dressing room that they can stay up and you can see the belief.

“I am not saying we deserved a point. Villa were very good, but we created some good chances of our own and we are delighted to get something from a game that looked beyond us.”

Villa certainly did not remember the late show that scuppered them at the Britannia stadium, but there was a warning in the 87th minute, when James Beattie was allowed to cross for Shawcross to head beyond Brad Friedel.

Even that late intervention from the former Manchester United defender should have been little more than a consolation, yet Villa failed to see out the game and may rue that come the final analysis in May.

Another poor header from Zat Knight was compounded in the second minute of stoppage time when Republic of Ireland midfielder Whelan picked up the loose ball and stunned Villa Park with the equaliser. You could almost hear Wenger cheering.

REFEREE: Howard Webb (Yorkshire) 7: Usual steady game from arguably the best in the business in the Premier League. Always on hand to keep control with the minimum of fuss.

MATCH RATING: **** Villa will look back and wonder how they managed to throw this away. Stoke were simply no match and yet were allowed off the hook by Villa’s late loss of concentration.