O’Neill accepts Villa draw

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill was not too disappointed to take a point from Saturday's goalless draw at Stoke City.

In a game of few chances, Stewart Downing and John Carew went close for Villa, but the Potters almost grabbed a late winner when Robert Huth headed narrowly over the bar.

The result leaves O'Neill's side seventh in the Premier League table, six points adrift of fourth-placed Spurs, although they do have two games in hand on Harry Redknapp's outfit.

The Villa boss said after the match:"We'd love to have won the game but it was never going to be easy. Stoke are always very difficult, so maybe it was a reasonable outcome.

"There weren't many chances in the game and the wind didn't help matters. It was a tough afternoon. We defended very stoutly indeed and the game didn't have that many clear-cut chances.

"At the end of the day a draw was probably a fair result."

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