Game #4066
Wednesday, 23 August 1989
Attendance: 35,796
Drew
Division One
13th (-4)
Liverpool
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟨
Villa Park
Villa survive the usual Liverpool refereeing shenanigans to come away with a second draw in the opening two games of the season under Graham Taylor.
Aston Villa
1-1
Liverpool
Assist(s) | Paul Birch | 60' |
KEY MAN
Paul Birch, confused Liverpool. Meanwhile the local rag can't help but put the boot in on a creditable draw with the dominant force in English football. A shame.
RELATED MATCHES
MATCH TIMELINE
🟢 | 1’ Debut, Andy Comyn
🥅 | 24’ Goal, 0-1, (Liverpool), John Barnes
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 0-1 Liverpool
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Nigel Callaghan, Sub on, Ian Olney
⚽ | 60’ Goal, 1-1, David Platt, Assist by Paul Birch
🔁 | 79’ Sub off, Adrian Heath, Sub on, Gareth Williams
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool
ON THIS DAY
Graham Taylor’s Villa draw for the second consecutive game at the start of the campaign as defender Andy Comyn made his debut aged 21 after moving from Alvechurch for £34,000 earlier this month.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1981-82
Liverpool
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
UEFA Cup / Europa League: 🏆🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1988-89
FIXTURE HISTORY
Previous 5 vs. Liverpool: 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟨 🟥
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1989-90 |
Matchday | #2 |
League Match | #2 |
Manager Game | #100 |
Wednesday, 23 August 1989
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴 | Worksop, 1987-1990
Referee: Ron Groves | 🏴 | Isle of Wight, 1984–1994
HT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
FT Score: 🟨 1-1
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟨
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Ron Groves | 🏴 | Isle of Wight, 1984–1994 🆘
Previous 5: 🟨 🟥 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 12 March 1988, Villa 1-2 Leeds, Villa Park.
Cards: 🟨
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Nigel Callaghan and Andy Comyn (debut) replace Chris Price and Tony Daley.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 27.48 |
Oldest Player |
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 | 31.06 |
Youngest Player |
CB Andy Comyn | 🏴 | 21.07 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Graham Taylor | 🏴 |
Kenny Dalglish | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 |
CB Andy Comyn | 🏴 | 🟢 |
CB Derek Mountfield | 🏴 |
CB Kent Nielsen | 🇩🇰 |
CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 |
M Paul Birch | 🏴 | 🔥 |
M Gordon Cowans | 🏴 |
M David Platt | 🏴 | ⚽ |
M Stuart Gray | 🏴 |
W Nigel Callaghan | 🏴 | 🔁 |
F Adrian Heath | 🏴 | 🔁 |
Liverpool
GK Bruce Grobbelaar | 🇿🇼 |
RB Barry Venison | 🏴 |
CB Alan Hansen | 🏴 |
CB Glenn Hysén | 🇸🇪 |
CB Steve Nicol | 🏴 |
LB David Burrows | 🏴 |
M Steve McMahon (ex) | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Ronnie Whelan | 🇮🇪 |
W John Barnes | 🏴 | ⚽ |
CF Peter Beardsley | 🏴 |
CF Ian Rush | 🏴 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 CF Ian Olney | 🏴 | for W Nigel Callaghan | 🏴 | 46' |
🔁 M Gareth Williams | 🏴 | for F Adrian Heath | 🏴 | 79' |
SUBSTITUTES
No Substitutions Made
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
None
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
M Jan Mølby | 🇩🇰 |
CF John Aldridge | 🇮🇪 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/13
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/13
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
CB Andy Comyn | 🏴 |
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
"We have two points from our first two matches. We could easily have lost them both and no-one would have been surprised."
Graham Taylor.
*Birmingham Evening Mail [Edited for sanity]*
Thursday, 24 August 1989
Villa boss Graham Taylor must have driven out of Villa Park last night with a grin on his face.
"We have two points from our first two matches. We could easily have lost them both and no-one would have been surprised." Said Taylor.
Nigel Spink. Paul Birch and a right-back named Andy Comyn - Andy Who? to most of the 33,796 crowd - were the pivotal Villa for figures.
It took rare nerve from Taylor to select Comyn six days after signing him on full pro forms from Alvechurch. Even mores so to ask the 21-year-old physics graduate to try to quell the best wing player in these islands, John Barnes.
Barnes initially teased and twisted Comyn until his head spun. The England player shimmied once, twice, three times before Comyn reeled to the ground and Barnes curled a right-foot shot off a defender and round Spink for Liverpool's goal.
Taylor said later that Villa were going nowhere in the first half. Yet, only a goal behind, he knew a team adjustment might at least supply new angles and initiatives.
Callaghan came off and lan Olney was deployed alone upheld while David Platt filled in behind him and Adrian Heath added a fourth man to the midfield.
Suddenly Birch was pushing resolutely down Liverpool's slightly weaker right side and for the first time they were being forced to act with more haste and to safeguard the flank.
Birch confused Liverpool into giving away a corner and crossed for Platt to crack a short-range shot inside the far post.
Then Spink dived instinctively to beat away Peter Beardsley's eight-yard shot.
Villa were now all hustle, holding on eagerly until the referee allowed Steve McMahon to handle the ball and then, after stopping to see whether he had been caught, rolled it to Beardsley.
It seemed that Taylor's luck had run dry in the last minute. Then Stuart Gray headed off the line and we knew it hadn't.
An absorbing, entertaining game.