Agbonlahor nets late draw for Villa

The England Under-21 international scored from close range in the 83rd minute to cancel out Joleon Lescott's first goal for the Toffees after 15 minutes.

Everton dominated the opening half but Villa were transformed after the break with John Carew twice missing good chances before Agbonlahor struck.

The visitors were the better side in all departments in the first half with Mikel Arteta impressive, although seldom has a Villa side looked so devoid of inspiration and belief.

Villa also struggled to cope with the threat of Andrew Johnson and James Vaughan but it was a different story in the second period.

Martin O'Neill's substitutes Patrik Berger and Shaun Maloney made a big difference and it was Everton who were on the back foot for long periods with captain Gareth Barry inspiring the home side's comeback.

Everton, beaten only once in their last eight matches, enjoyed the majority of the early possession from the first whistle and took the lead with 15 minutes gone.

Arteta was looking impressive on the left flank and was chopped down by Gavin McCann before floating the resulting free-kick into the Villa box. It took a deflection off Gary Cahill before finding its way to Lescott and the former Wolves player made no mistake with a far-post header.

Ashley Young came close to forcing an equaliser against the run of play when he poked his first-time shot just wide after Carew had flicked on Wilfred Bouma's free-kick.

But Villa left it late to restore parity as Agbonlahor levelled from close range after Carew's initial attempt was blocked by Tim Howard.