Game #4086
Saturday, 9 December 1989
Attendance: 37,435
Drew
Division One
2nd= (-1)
Liverpool
Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟨
Anfield
Villa take the game to Liverpool and win in the first half before safety first kicks in ahead of a second half equaliser. Despite sitting joint second with eight wins in ten first division games and one defeat, the Birmingham Mail focus on Villa "needing nine more points to avoid a relegation battle." You couldn't make it up. Meanwhile, elsewhere, the praise is over-flowing for Villa as "serious title-contenders."
Liverpool
1-1
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | Tony Daley | 21' |
KEY MAN
Ian Olney, fired Villa into a deserved lead then gave a "quite exceptional display of the centre-forward's art."
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
⚽ | 21' Goal, 1-0, Ian Olney, Assist by Tony Daley
🕒 | HT Liverpool 0-1 Aston Villa
🥅 | 64' Goal, 1-1, (Liverpool), Peter Beardsley
🕒 | FT Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Graham Taylor’s Villa fail to pick up three points for only the second League game in ten but earn a draw at Anfield. Both teams drop to joint second place after Arsenal's last minute victory over Coventry sends the Gunners top,
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
UEFA Cup / Europa 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
Liverpool
Previous 5 vs. Liverpool: 🟨 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟨
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1989-90 |
Matchday | #22 |
League Match | #17 |
Manager Game | #120 |
Saturday, 9 December 1989
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴 | Worksop, 1987-1990
Referee: Ken Redfern | 🏴 | Whitley Bay, 1978-1993
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟩 1-0
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
FT Score: 🟨 1-1
Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟨
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Ken Redfern | 🏴 | Whitley Bay, 1978-1993
Previous 5: 🟥 🟩 🟩
Last Match: 🟩 7 January 1989, FA Cup, Villa 3-2 Crewe, Gresty Road.
Cards: None
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Graham Taylor names the same team for a fourth consecutive League game.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 27.09 |
Oldest Player |
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 | 31.36 |
Youngest Player |
CF Ian Olney | 🏴 | 19.99 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Graham Taylor | 🏴 |
Kenny Dalglish | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Nigel Spink | 🏴 |
RB Chris Price | 🏴 |
CB Paul McGrath | 🇮🇪 |
CB Derek Mountfield | 🏴 |
CB Kent Nielsen | 🇩🇰 |
M Stuart Gray | 🏴 |
M Gordon Cowans | 🏴 |
M David Platt | 🏴 |
W Tony Daley | 🏴 | 🔥 |
CF Ian Olney | 🏴 | ⚽ |
CF Ian Ormondroyd | 🏴 |
Liverpool
GK Bruce Grobbelaar | 🇿🇼 |
LB Steve Staunton | 🇮🇪 |
CB Gary Ablett | 🏴 |
CB Glenn Hysén | 🇸🇪 |
M Steve McMahon (ex) | 🏴 |
M Ray Houghton | 🇮🇪 |
M Ronnie Whelan | 🇮🇪 |
M Jan Mølby | 🇩🇰 |
W John Barnes | 🏴 | 🔁 |
CF Peter Beardsley | 🏴 | ⚽ |
CF Ian Rush | 🏴 |
SUBSTITUTES
No Substitutions Made
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | W John Barnes | 🏴 | (CB Nick Tanner | 🏴 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
M Mark Blake | 🏴 |
M Gareth Williams | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
M Mike Marsh | 🏴 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/13
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 5/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 7/13
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
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“After 17 games I’ve got to be very pleased with our position.”
Graham Taylor.
*Sunday Tribune*
Sunday, 10 December 1989
ASTON Villa yesterday came through their biggest test to date, their inexperienced team earning their spurs and a point with a battling performance which matched Liverpool all the way.
The immediate beneficiaries are Arsenal, whose win at Coventry puts them top of the table, but we shall now have to take the challenge by Graham Taylor's restructured side with some seriousness.
If anything they will be the more disappointed with the result after leading for 45 minutes.
lan Olney, who gave a quite exceptional display of the centre-forward's art, particularly when left on his own as his side fell back in the second half, had given them a deserved lead in the 21st minute, and thereafter they had looked increasingly secure for all Liverpool's pressure.
The loss of John Barnes with a recurrence of his hamstring injury after 38 minutes had taken much of the flair out of the home side's attack, and although Liverpool beat insistently at Villa's defence as the second half got under way, the lack of wit in their attacks was reflected in the growing growls of frustration which spread round Anfield.
Paul McGrath and his two fellow centre-backs, Kent Nielsen and Derek Mountfield were all playing with imposing conviction.
There was little apparent danger as Ronnie Whelan chipped the ball forward towards Rush, but McGrath let the Welshman, previously his prisoner all afternoon, get goal-side of him, and in his effort to recover he pulled Rush down.
Before the referee had time to give a free-kick however the ball came off Rush's chest back to Beardsley, who fastened on to it to leave Spink helpless with a low drive from twenty yards into the very corner of the net.
Villa had held the lead for 45 minutes.
Yet if Liverpool had the best of the final quarter, Villa could not be taken for granted and at the very close Olney, marauding with purpose past two defenders only to shoot straight at Grobbelaar could have won the game for the visitors.
In the end the result was about right for Villa had played their part in a splendid, passionate occasion.