VILLA emerged from a crash course at football's School of Science last night with two contrasting conclusions.

One was that they are on the threshold of becoming an outstanding team.

The other was that the game's glittering prizes look destined to remain tantalisingly out of reach.

If it sounds like a contradiction, that's exactly what Ron Atkinson's men are at the moment.

They buzz, but can't sting; they flow smoothly around vast areas of the pitch, but don't penetrate In the few yards which separate success from failure.

For Villa at the moment, it's a classic case of so near and yet so far, a condition never better emphasised than at Everton.

The clock at Goodison Park showed just one minute and 52 seconds remained when Mo Johnston blasted apart Villa's unbeaten start to the Premier League.

Maybe a fourth consecutive draw would hardly have sent their supporters into raptures, but defeat illustrated more painfully than ever the need for a top class striker to accompany Dalian Atkinson.

But until Villa can find a solution to a problem which is more of an art than a science, they will surely continue to frustrate.

The irony of last night's setback is that Villa's performance on Merseyside was arguably their best to date.

On occasions. their fluent passing moves, featuring the intelligent Ray Houghton and Garry Parker, reduced the Everton faithful to a mesmerised silence.

There were few real worries at the back, either, even though Earl Barrett sometimes looked uncomfortable at right-back.

Until Johnston pounced with his 88th minute stunner, Shaun Teale and Paul McGrath had been towers of strength.

Villa also created more openings than in their previous three games, with the liverwire Stephen Froggatt particularly unlucky to see a ferocious 20-yard drive bounce down off the underside of the crossbar.

But both Froggatt and Atkinson were also guilty of weak headers from good positions, and Tony Daley's only menacing contribution was a shot which flew just over right at the death.

Almost inevitably, Everton’s winner followed a smooth Villa attack involving Steve Staunton, Kevin Richardson and Parker.

Sadly, it broke down as the ball ran away from Froggatt in the penalty area, enabling Gary Ablett to clear smartly and Peter Beardsley to play a superb pass into Johnston's slipstream.

The 20-yard drive which flew Inside Nigel Spink's left hand post left Villa reflecting on what might have been - and the urgent need for similar venom.