Aston Villa kept up their charge for fifth spot thanks to a late header from John Carew who brought the Villains back into the game at Goodison Park with a 2-2 draw. A victory for Everton would've guaranteed fifth spot for the Toffees.

A hard fought first half saw Everton go closest, as Yakubu unleashed a powerful shot at Scott Carson who made a great stop.

The breakthrough came on 55 minutes when Phil Neville put Everton ahead with a deflected strike following good work by Yakubu down the left flank.

O'Neill went for broke by replacing defenders Wilfred Bouma and Zat Knight with forwards Marlon Harewood and Patrik Berger and the gamble paid off on 80 minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor snatched an equaliser with a close range strike from Barry's corner.

Just four minutes later though, Everton were back in front as Joseph Yobo hammered home a Lee Carsley cross.

But with the minutes running out Norweigan striker John Carew stepped up to strike and equalise, as he headed home a Gareth Barry cross.

Moyes disappointed
"It's disappointing but you are always at your most vulnerable when you score, so they say, and that was the case here," Everton manager David Moyes said.

"We are still three points ahead with two games to go. If we could have got the three points we could have secured fifth place. We've not done it so it's going all the way to the wire."

O'Neill happy with battlers
Villa boss Martin O'Neill added: "We fought our way back into the game twice and I thought we showed fantastic spirit. We have the ability and the spirit was there in bundles."