Swansea 2-2 Aston Villa
Last updated on .From the section Football
Danny Graham scored a stoppage-time equaliser to deny Aston Villa victory at the Liberty Stadium.
Christian Benteke appeared to have given Villa victory with an 85th-minute penalty after Nathan Dyer had fouled Andreas Weimann.
But Graham fired home from eight yards to clinch a point for the hosts.
Wayne Routledge's early strike had given Swansea the lead while Michu twice hit the post, before Weimann equalised before just half-time.
The thrilling finale had seemed unlikely in the opening stages when Swansea, with top scorer Michu returning as one of five changes, cut Villa to shreds.
But Villa, after conceding 15 goals in their previous three games, showed a fighting spirit which had been lacking over Christmas.
Manager Paul Lambert's policy of giving youth a chance saw him select the youngest Villa team ever to take the field in the Premier League with an average age of just 23 years and 119 days.
Swansea dominated the first half but went in at half-time all square after missing a host of good chances.
Routledge fired the Swans ahead in the ninth minute with his second opening of the match, after good work by Leon Britton and Pablo Hernandez.
Within a minute Michu hit the post and then Graham fired a left-foot shot wide when he should have scored.
Michu produced a sublime drag-back inside the box to leave the Villa defence flat-footed, but goalkeeper Brad Guzan got enough on the shot to guide it onto the post.
Then Swansea were caught against the run of play just before the interval.
Benteke controlled well in midfield and his pass wrong-footed Ashley Williams to find Weimann, who fired a first-time shot low past Michel Vorm's outstretched right hand.
It was Villa's first goal since their 3-1 win at Liverpool on 17 December.
Villa had a let-off early in the second half when referee Mark Halsey ruled Joe Bennett handled the ball outside the box, though it was a close call.
But Villa were showing a lot more fight than in recent weeks, with Marc Albrighton making a nuisance of himself and Bennett looking lively down the left flank.
And Benteke and Weimann caused panic as Chico Flores failed to clear, but Weimann's shot was well wide.
Dyer cleared a powerful Benteke header off the line, but the little winger brought down Weimann as he attempted to retrieve the ball and conceded the penalty.
Benteke stepped up and sent Vorm the wrong way.
The Swans threw everything at Villa in a bad-tempered finale, and finally got their reward when the ball fell to Graham eight yards out and he needed two attempts to beat Guzan with a powerful right-foot shot.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup: "We could have been 4-0 up after 12 minutes. Incredible.
"Aston Villa really fought after three defeats. They wanted to do everything to get a point and got close to getting three points. It was a great fight back from us, we showed character. We could have lost but should have won.
"Obviously it should have been two penalties. The Aston Villa player had two feet on the line and last time I read the rules on the line is in the box. His hand is also in the box so it should have been a penalty but that's life."
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "It is hard to take because at 30 seconds to go, you expect to see it through. In the first half, Swansea were right on top but in the second half we were very good.
"We have a lot of injuries so you have to give credit to the players. It is a big point for us.
"I've got a lot of faith in what we're doing and we won't deviate from it. Even after the heavy defeats we were keeping spirits up."
Comments
Join the conversation
"Laudroup out"
That's a bright comment! Swans draw with villa and you want a new manager? What planet are you on?
You're just a wind up merchant mate. You still haven't said who you support. Small-minded, obnoxious fools like you are what's wrong with this world. Troll off somewhere else. That's my opinion and really nothing to do with you. Pillock.
As a Villa supporter, I agree that the Swans should have got 3 points, but football isn't a game where the better team always wins.
Disliking some-one you only see in the media and judging every fan from the ones you see interviewed on Sky is assumption?
Take up tennis mate, the crowds there are so much more gregarious
Clown
So who do you support then? Don't you think it is crass and obnoxious to call all villa fans that? I'd say man u fans are worse, given they sang 'let him die' during our tribute to Stan Petrov earlier in the season.
"Complete joke that theres no football league show tonight absolutely ridiculous whats point in having MOTD and then no football league show"
Completely agree. BBC should spend less money on falsely accusing people of things they haven't done and thus being sued and more money on showing sport on TV....hey it's not as though it's thier money though....it's yours and mine!
Sometimes the lack of options is a good thing. Even if we wanted to, we never had the possibility to do a QPR and try and import a bunch of mercenaries. Wish Villa well, nobody has a divine right, but its a big club with a good fan base.
I do not think you will need 40 points this year to stay up. The only thing that might trip you up is that goal difference.
QPR & READING are going down 100%
Wigan are experts at avoiding the drop, so its just SOT you need to keep an eye on.
In familiar fashion, I was happy with Swansea's performance and a little disappointed with the result, overall. Villa deserved something though, if only for the great performances from Benteke and Weimann.
Do you support a team because you like their strip or do you live next door to Lambert and he won't give you your ball back?
Plum
Because many at the BBC, especailly in cardiff only like to talk about swansea when there is a chance to knock them or highlight a weakness.
When we play amazing against west brom, or beat Arsenal 2-0 or draw UTD with a squad that cost 260+ million less, it unsettles them and so drawing against a weak villa is a more comfy thing for them to do.
How many times does it seem that Villa provide the resources and facilities for future England players and managers to find their feet, then to fly the nest, leaving Villa high and dry. David Platt was our ace player once. Graham Taylor, bless him, a great manager for us in his time - to mention just two. They come here and then they go...