3-3

DON'T let anyone ever tell you that end of season games with nothing at stake are a recipe for boredom after yesterday's six-goal extravaganza at Goodison Park.

Visitors Villa threw caution to the wind and both teams, who began the season with title aspirations but have had to settle for respectably high positions in the First Division, produced superb entertainment for a near 30,000 crowd

Each of them attacked at every opportunity and not surprisingly the goals flowed mainly due to defensive errors.

The pattern was set after only four minutes when Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall plunged to his left to turn away a shot from Mark Blake and then saved from Tony Daley.

As Everton retaliated, a ferocious 25-yard volley by Stuart McCall almost poleaxed Gordon Cowans as he cleared the ball off the Villa line.

Everton finally made the breakthrough after 31 minutes when a seemingly harmless cross from the left by Neil Pointon flicked off Tony Cottee's forelock before glancing off Tony Cascarino into his own net.

The Villa player earned his revenge however after 49 minutes when he turned in Blake's cross for the equaliser.

Two minutes later Everton regained the lead after the Villa defence failed to clear a corner and after Cottee's shot was blocked by goalkeeper Nigel Spink the ball bobbled round the goalmouth before Newell got his name on the scoresheet.

Villa were allowed back into the game by two rare mistakes by the usually immaculate Southall.

After 58 minutes he took one stride too many and handled outside the penalty area, giving Villa the free kick with which Cowans' exquisitely curled the equaliser home

If Southall was kicking himself, then he was even more embarrassed after 72 minutes when he could only stand and watch as a cross come shot from the left by Tony Daley floated over him and rebounded into the net off the far post.

The Villa fans were chanting for a repeat of their 6-2 drubbing of Everton in November but their hopes were ended eight minutes from time.

Former Everton defender Derek Mountfield, making a nostalgic return to his old stamping ground, was harshly judged to have fouled Coffee and substitute Kevin Sheedy fired home the equaliser from the penalty spot.

A final treat for the crowd came at the final whistle when Everton's Dutch player Ray Atteveld, performed an impromptu striptease.