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Game #5029

Aston Villa

16-11-10, 59 PTS

Aston Villa.jpg

Saturday, 16 May 2009

6th (-1)

Last 5: 🟨 🟨 🟩 🟥 🟨

GK Brad Friedel | 🇺🇸 |
LB Nicky Shorey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Curtis Davies | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Carlos Cuéllar | 🇪🇸 |
M Stiliyan Petrov | 🇧🇬 | 🔥 |
M Gareth Barry | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🟨 |
W Ashley Young | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🔁 |
W James Milner | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🟨 |
CF John Carew | 🇳🇴 | ⚽ |
CF Emile Heskey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

Martin O'Neill | 🇬🇧 | 2006-2010
Aston Villa.jpg
Substitutes

🔁 M Nigel Reo-Coker | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | for W Ashley Young | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 70’ |

Unused Substitutes

GK Brad Guzan | 🇺🇸 |
CB Ciaran Clark | 🇮🇪 |
CB Zat Knight | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Craig Gardner | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Steve Sidwell | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
F Nathan Delfouneso | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

Yellow Cards (Warnings, Cautions, Bookings)

🟨 Gareth Barry (66)
⭐ Club Record

🟨 James Milner (11)

Red Cards (Ordered from Field of Play, Dismissals, Sendings Off)

None

Trophy Record

European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96

Matchday Squad

Unavailable

Not recorded

Team News

Emile Heskey and Carlos Cuéllar replace Luke Young and Zat Knight.

Team Stats

Starting XI Average Age
| 27.93 |

Oldest Player |
GK Brad Friedel | 🇺🇸 | 38.02 |

Youngest Player |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 22.61 |

Debut Appearances

None

Final Appearances

None

Aston Villa.jpg

Drew

1-1

🟨 16 May 2009, Villa 1-1 Boro, Riverside
Scorer(s) | John Carew | 57’ |

Assist(s) | Stiliyan Petrov | 57' |

Match Timeline

🥅 | 14’ Goal, 0-1, (Middlesbrough), Tuncay Şanlı
🕒 | HT Middlesbrough 0-1 Aston Villa
🟨 | 53’ Booking, Gareth Barry
🟨 | 53’ Booking, James Milner
⚽ | 57’ Goal, 1-1, John Carew, Assist by Stiliyan Petrov
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Ashley Young, Sub on, Nigel Reo-Coker
🕒 | FT Middlesbrough 1-1 Aston Villa

Season | 2008-09 |
Matchday | #54 |
League Game | #37 |
Manager Game | #137 |
Saturday, 16 May 2009

Aston Villa.jpg
Match Record
Game Record

Manager: Martin O’Neill | 🇬🇧 | County Londonderry, 2006-2010
Referee: Mike Riley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Leeds, 1996-2009
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Score: 🟨 1-1
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
Last 5: 🟨 🟨 🟩 🟥 🟨

Officials

Referee: Mike Riley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Leeds, 1996-2009

Previous 5 vs. Boro: 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟨 🟥

Aston Villa.jpg
Head to Head

Total 🕒 139 | 🟩 W64 (46% ) | 🟨 D33 | 🇺(70% ) | 🟥 L42 (30% ) | ⚽ 244 | 🥅 176 | GD 68

Match Stats

Possession F | 50%
Possession A | 50%
Shots F | 10
Shots A | 14
Shots on Target F | 5
Shots on Target A | 3
Corners F | 9
Corners A | 6
Fouls F | 18
Fouls A | 15

Martin O'Neill | 🇬🇧 | 2006-2010

🕒 137 | 🟩 | 53 🟨 | 45 🟥 39 | 1.49

Villa Career Form:

Top 8

🟩 12 Apr 2025, Villa 3-0 Southampton, St Mary's TBL.png

Premier League

Middlesbrough

7-11-19, 32 PTS

Aston Villa.jpg

Riverside Stadium

Attendance: 27,261

GK Brad Jones | 🇦🇺 |
RB Justin Hoyte | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Robert Huth | 🇩🇪 |
CB Matthew Bates | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB David Wheater | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Gary O’Neil | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🔁 |
M Julio Arca | 🇦🇷 |
W Adam Johnson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
W Tuncay Şanlı | 🇹🇷 | ⚽ |
W Stuart Downing | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🔁 |
CF Marvin Emnes | 🇳🇱 |

Gareth Southgate (ex) | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
Aston Villa.jpg
Substitutes

🔁 | W Stuart Downing | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | (CF Marlon King | 🇯🇲 |)
🔁 | M Gary O’Neil | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | (M Josh Walker | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |)

Unused Substitutes

GK Ross Turnbull | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
RB Tony McMahon | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Andrew Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Jonathan Grounds | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Mohamed Shawky | 🇪🇬 |

Yellow Cards (Warnings, Cautions, Bookings)

None

Red Cards (Ordered from Field of Play, Dismissals, Sendings Off)

None

Opposition Trophy Record

European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 2003-04

Opposition Matchday Squad

Opposition Unavailable

Not Recorded

🟩 12 Apr 2025, Villa 3-0 Southampton, St Mary's TBL.png
Starting XI
GK Brad Friedel | 🇺🇸 |
🕒

45

45*

🔥

0

0

🟩

22

🟨

13*

🟥

10

13

🥅

56*

LB Nicky Shorey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

32

30*

🔥

0

2

🟩

15

🟨

8*

🟥

9

CB Curtis Davies | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

58

53*

🔥

2

1

🟩

27

🟨

18*

🟥

13

CB Carlos Cuéllar | 🇪🇸 |
🕒

36

32*

🔥

0

0

🟩

16

🟨

9*

🟥

11

M Stiliyan Petrov | 🇧🇬 |
🕒

111

104*

🔥

5

6*

🟩

45

🟨

37*

🟥

29

M Gareth Barry | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

439

421*

🔥

52

51

🟩

167

🟨

126*

🟥

146

W James Milner | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

75

69*

🔥

9

17

🟩

31

🟨

21*

🟥

23

W Ashley Young | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

99

96*

🔥

21

32

🟩

41

🟨

31*

🟥

27

CF John Carew | 🇳🇴 |
🕒

77

68*

🔥

31*

7

🟩

27

🟨

26*

🟥

24

CF Emile Heskey | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

13

11*

🔥

2

1

🟩

3

🟨

5*

🟥

5

F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

138

128*

🔥

35

16

🟩

52

🟨

44*

🟥

42

Substitutes
🕒

🔁

🔥

GK Sub

🟩

🟨

🟥

🥅

M Nigel Reo-Coker | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
🕒

74

🔁

6*

🔥

3

4

Sub 1

🟩

34

🟨

19*

🟥

21

🕒

🔁

🔥

Sub 2

🟩

🟨

🟥

🕒

🔁

🔥

Sub 3

🟩

🟨

🟥

🕒

🔁

🔥

Sub 4

🟩

🟨

🟥

🕒

🔁

🔥

Sub 5

🟩

🟨

🟥

Match Media
On This Day
  • Villa can only draw with a Middlesbrough side heading for relegation under Gareth Southgate and now boast a single win in the last fifteen in all competitions and lose fifth place to a workmanlike Everton side having been sitting pretty in third place with thirteen to play before Martin O'Neill's Moscow surrender.

  • Villa fall back to 6th in the table - their lowest position since October - after their 4th draw in 6 Premier League games under Martin O'Neill.

  • James Milner makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W31 D21 L23, 9 Goals, 17 Assists and 11 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.92 games played so far in his Villa career.

  • Meanwhile, Martin Laursen announces his retirement from football.

What they Said

“We had chances to finish the game but Middlesbrough were pressing so there was always that possibility.

“We were a bit lethargic in the first half but in the second we got our hands dirty and we performed very well.

“I would admit to a bit of tiredness - it’s been a long season but we’ll try and finish as strongly as we can.”

Martin O'Neill.



"There are too many games.

”One thing they could have done was that whoever comes out of the group stage would be in the last 16, like the Champions League. The last 32 is a round too many. I accept there are more teams and that there are teams that drop out of the Champions League and go into it, but you can devise a system that those teams that come out of the group should be in the final 16. It should have been redesigned with that in mind because you can see the problems teams in the Champions League have had. Manchester United, going all guns blazing for every single competition, go to a semi-final of an FA Cup and play a weakened side. United can possibly get away with that but there's fixture congestion at the most important time of the season. And that's the Champions League. So you can imagine what it's like with the extra Uefa Cup games."

Martin O’Neill still doesn’t get it.

*Middlesbrough’s Premier League status was left hanging by a thread after John Carew equalised Tuncay Sanli’s opener to earn Aston Villa a draw.*

Tuncay put Boro ahead with an overhead kick but the hosts could not increase their advantage and it proved costly.

Villa dominated the early stages of the second half and Carew rifled in a low strike to draw his side level.

With Boro desperate to retake the lead, they left gaping holes at the back and Villa wasted several chances to win it.

Gareth Southgate’s men, who travel to West Ham on the final day, remain three points adrift of safety but their goal difference (-28) is inferior to fourth-bottom Hull’s (-24).

They must win at Upton Park to have any hope of survival but if Hull get a point at home to Manchester United and Newcastle, who they are two points behind, win at Villa, they are definitely down.

A draw would probably be enough to save Newcastle because their goal-difference is - 18.

Boro came into the game off the back of three successive defeats and with only two wins from their last 24 outings, but they set about their task in sprightly fashion.

They threatened to open the scoring inside a minute when Marvin Emnes released Stewart Downing and his cross had to be poked behind by Gareth Barry.

Julio Arca headed straight at Brad Friedel before Gary O’Neill’s fierce drive deflected off Tuncay and narrowly over the bar.

Villa, who drop into sixth after Everton beat West Ham, were struggling to establish any sort of rhythm yet might have taken the lead.

Gabriel Agbolahor collected Barry’s ball over the top but shot straight at the feet of Brad Jones when one-on-one with the Australian goalkeeper.

It was a let-off for the hosts but they continued to push forward and gained their reward.

Arca fed Downing on the left and his shot looped up off James Milner into the heart of the area, where Tuncay produced a stunning bicycle kick that flew past Friedel’s left hand and nestled in the bottom corner.

It was a magnificent effort from the Turkish striker, who grabbed both goals in Boro’s 2-1 win at Villa Park earlier in the season.

Southgate’s team were knocked out of their stride by the loss of Downing, who hobbled off with a nasty-looking injury following a heavy challenge by Stiliyan Petrov.

Villa then enjoyed a lengthy period of possession but the home defence, boosted by the return of David Wheater, who was playing despite requiring knee surgery, held firm.

That allowed Boro to go in search of a second and, moments after referee Mike Riley rejected a penalty shout as Carew climbed all over Emnes, Friedel made a fine save to deny Justin Hoyte from the edge of the box.

Villa arrived with only one win in their previous 14 games in all competitions but boast one of the division’s finest away records - and after half-time they showed exactly why.

The visitors got forward in numbers and applied sustained pressure on a Boro backline that was beginning to creak.

Carlos Cuellar miscued a header and Barry a volley before Boro’s failure to clear Petrov’s close-range shot allowed Carew to lash his drive past a despairing Jones.

Knowing that anything less than a victory would see them all-but relegated, Boro surged forward but left themselves exposed to the counter-attack.

Petrov screwed a shot wide, Ashley Young was foiled when through on goal, Wheater cleared off the line from an Agbonlahor header and Jones saved well from the same man.

Boro’s only significant effort of the second half saw Tuncay glance a header over from Hoyte’s left-wing cross.

In Villa they met an organised and stubborn defensive unit and, given the number of openings they created late on, Martin O’Neill’s side will feel they should have taken all three points.

*Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill:*

“We had chances to finish the game but Middlesbrough were pressing so there was always that possibility.

“We were a bit lethargic in the first half but in the second we got our hands dirty and we performed very well.

“I would admit to a bit of tiredness - it’s been a long season but we’ll try and finish as strongly as we can.”

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