Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and Emiliano Martinez contributed significantly to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery’s first goalless draw in 97 Premier League matches.
The point meant Villa could not leapfrog Manchester City to go level on points with leaders Liverpool and while it did little for Everton, who are only one ahead of 18th-placed Luton – who have a match in hand – it did at least end a run of three successive league defeats.
A large part of that was down to Pickford, who made good saves from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, while Martinez made his presence felt by denying Dominic Calvert-Lewin clean through on goal and also James Garner in quick succession.
However, while the two goalkeepers were on the top of their game at Goodison Park, the men leading their respective attacks were less so.
Calvert-Lewin has not scored for 13 matches and after failing to convert Everton’s best chance he was replaced just past the hour mark having failed to end a run dating back to October.
Watkins’ battle with James Tarkowski was more compelling but ultimately as fruitless as Villa’s 15 shots failed to produce a goal.
This was the 212nd league meeting between the pair – a record in English domestic history – and in the later stages that familiarity bred some contempt as players squared up to each other on several occasions.
Everton captain Seamus Coleman was making his 355th Premier League appearance, a new club record, and while the £60,000 signing from Sligo in 2009 will have enjoyed the clean sheet there was little else to celebrate about his landmark game.
Arnaut Danjuma woefully miscued an early volley from Jack Harrison’s cross and while the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure after five matches made a huge difference it was Villa who looked more constructive in the final third.
Watkins’ angled shot was blocked by Pickford’s knee and although the goalkeeper was beaten by Alex Moreno’s 20-yard strike a lengthy VAR check ruled Bailey, who played the final pass, was offside in the build-up from a short corner.
Pickford’s quick reactions tipped Bailey’s shot around his near post before Martinez proved he could match the England number one in the save stakes.
Danjuma’s through-ball with the outside of his right foot was the perfect invitation for Calvert-Lewin to race through but he never appeared confident, perhaps understandably considering his drought.
The striker – given a reprieve earlier this week when his red card at Crystal Palace was rescinded – was not afforded the same leniency by the Argentinian World Cup winner, who stuck out a foot to block the low shot when anything lifted off the turf would almost certainly have beaten him.
Martinez then made a similarly good stop from Garner low down to his left as he was moving to his right in the breakdown from the Calvert-Lewin attack.
Goalmouth incidents were less frequent in an increasingly fractious second half as referee David Coote struggled to get a handle on a number of strong challenges, several from a pumped-up Tarkowski.
When Danjuma stabbed wide after Harrison’s run down the right it was his – and Calvert-Lewin’s – last involvement.
A flurry of late activity saw Vitalii Mykolenko’s diving block smother a shot from Matty Cash, whose cross was then diverted just wide by the sliding Jhon Duran, before Doucoure raced clear to beat Martinez at his near post only to be denied by an offside flag.
Captain fantastic: Reid again on target as Arnett Gardens edge Portmore United to book semi-final spot
As the famous English proverbs states “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”
That’s the mindset of Arnett Gardens’s Head coach Xavier Gilbert, who is backing his team to not only overcome the Cavalier hurdle in the semi-final, but also to possibly go all the way in this season’s Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League.
Gilbert’s thoughts followed their 1-0 win over Portmore United in second-leg quarterfinal action, as Arnett Gardens wrapped up a 2-1 aggregate scoreline at Sabina Park on Monday.
Captain fantastic, Fabian Reid, was again the saviour, as he got the all-important strike in the 90th minute to break Portmore United’s heart and ensure the five-time champions remain on course for the final.
With the “Junglists” last title coming back in the 2016/17 season, Gilbert is optimistic about breaking the drought, but first they will have to get by last season’s beaten finalist, Cavalier in the semi-final, which kicks off on Sunday.
Arnett Gardens, who fell at the semi-final stage to eventual champions Mount Pleasant FA last year, lost 0-3 and drew 2-2 with Cavalier earlier this season.
“We knew it would only get tougher as we go on, and that's a given. But when the situation becomes difficult, that’s when we need to show our strength and stand up to it. So, yes, it will be another tough encounter against Cavalier, but we have to prepare mentally and physically for it, and then analyse how we're going to approach that game tactically,” Gilbert said in a post-game interview.
“But I'm happy that we got the win tonight. I thought we created some good opportunities, and we just didn't finish. We knew that it was just a matter of time, and we finally got it (the goal) in the end. I am happy for the players, I think they really deserve it, and it's a huge boost heading into, into the semi-final. They should be confident for that (semi-final) game, and we're just going to go back, recover and get ready for it,” he added.
It was a fairly decent, but goalless first half, as both teams evenly matched strides and had their fair share of chances to break the deadlock. Arnett Gardens initially looked more threatening in open play, but the best chance of the half fell to Portmore United in the 39th minute, when Alex Marshall’s glancing header sent Chevaughn Walsh through on goal, but the striker sporting the number nine jersey, couldn’t beat Eric Edwards, who left his line well to block the effort.
Prior to that, Chevany Willis’s seventh-minute freekick for Arnett Gardens, came back off the crossbar, while Keheim Dixon went on a break in the 10th minute, but was taken out by Portmore United’s custodian Benjamin Williams, who strayed well outside his area. Fortunately, the resulting freekick didn’t inflict any damage on the St Catherine team.
Portmore United started more purposeful on the resumption, and enjoyed a decent passage of play, but failed to create any meaningful chance to hurt Arnett Gardens.
Arnett Gardens eventually settled and should have opened the scoring through Dixon in the 54th minute. The former Clarendon College standout picked up a pass from Jaheim Thomas and had time and space to pick a spot from deep inside the danger area. However, his first opportunity came off the upright, while the second off the rebound, slammed into the underside of the crossbar.
Arnett Gardens again went close in the 66th minute, as Reid rose highest to deflect Philando Wing’s weighted corner kick towards goal, but Williams, diving full stretch to his right, got down well to parry.
Portmore responded six minutes later, but Walsh, arriving at the far post, failed to connect with Marshall’s cross.
From there, it was all Arnett Gardens, as they applied consistent pressure and had two quick looks at the target, but both Marlon Martin and substitute Shai Smith, misfired in quick succession.
However, the South St Andrew team inevitably got the goal their many fans waited for on the stroke of full time. Smith, with a cheeky play, orchestrated a tidy build up in a one-two combination play with another substitute Kimani Arbouine, before playing a perfect pass across the face of goal for Reid to finish his 12th goal of the season, and 86th in a dazzling JPL career, from close range.
With the defeat a tough one to take, Portmore United’s Head coach Phillip Williams rued their missed opportunities.
“I think we created enough chances but at the same time, I don’t think we were clinical enough to make the most of those chances. It was a game of fine margins and against a quality team like Arnett Gardens, you have to put away those chances, but the guys stuck to the tactical adjustments that we made, and we were in the game for a longer period it is just unfortunate that we didn’t put away our chances,” Williams reasoned.
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
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