Aston Villa vs Newcastle United. Premier League.
Villa ParkAttendance33,055.
Saturday 7 May 2016 20:48, UK
Newcastle's survival hopes suffered a major setback after they were held to a goalless draw by already relegated Aston Villa on Saturday.
Jack Colback and Aleksandar Mitrovic each squandered second-half opportunities to break the deadlock at Villa Park as Rafa Benitez's side failed to break down the Premier League's worst defence.
The draw, combined with Sunderland's victory over Chelsea, means Newcastle drop into the relegation zone and they will be relegated if Sunderland beat Everton in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Wednesday.
Villa, in their final Premier League home game before relegation, failed to register a shot on target but did prevent a club-record 12th consecutive league defeat as they picked up their first point since February.
Rafa Benitez named an unchanged team from Newcastle's victory over Crystal Palace, but they struggled for fluency in a tepid first half.
Kevin Toner, handed his second league start by interim Villa boss Eric Black, was tasked with keeping tabs on Andros Townsend, and the in-form Newcastle winger was largely kept in check.
The visitors' best chance of the first 45 minutes fell to Papiss Cisse, who snatched at his shot after Vurnon Anita's measured through-ball.
The same combination ended in a similar result 10 minutes before half-time as an unmarked Cisse miscued his volley into the arms of Aston Villa goalkeeper Mark Bunn.
Having impressed in the second half against Liverpool and Palace in their previous two matches, Newcastle came out after the break at a higher tempo and missed two golden opportunities inside the first 15 minutes.
First, Colback blazed over from 10 yards before Mitrovic, who replaced the ineffective Cisse after 52 minutes, lobbed over with only Bunn to beat.
Benitez sacrificed his defensive midfield to throw on Ayoze Perez and Siem De Jong, but the visitors toiled as the game progressed and they failed to create any clearer chances.
Bunn beat clear a firm strike from Georginio Wijnaldum and Mitrovic nodded wide from Colback's delivery, but Villa's defence was rarely stretched.
News of Sunderland's dramatic fightback against Chelsea filtered through the ground as Newcastle surged forward in six minutes of added time, but Ciaran Clark's brave block from Wijnaldum's volley was as close as Benitez's side got to a late winner.
They host Tottenham on the final day of the season but may be already relegated by then. They have 34 points, one fewer than Sunderland, who have their game in hand against Everton at the Stadium of Light.
As for Villa, they conclude their season at the Emirates against Arsenal before turning their attention to the Championship.
Soccer Saturday verdict - Charlie Nicholas
This was a game I was rather disappointed with. In the first 45 minutes, Aston Villa didn't really put many passes together.
It was so flat, it was a crazy first 45 minutes that lacked true ambition. The second-half changed a little bit. In the end Villa threatened just a couple of times but Newcastle ran out of ideas.
Now Newcastle really have it all to do. They've got to try and hope Sunderland don't get anything, it's out of their control and they didn't deserve to win for me today. They might have created more chances but a goalless draw at this stage of the season is not helpful.
Player ratings
Aston Villa: Bunn (7), Clark (7), Lescott (6), Toner (6), Hutton (7), Westwood (7), Sanchez (7), Gana (6), Bacuna (6), Ayew (6), Sinclair (6)
Subs used: Hepburn-Murphy (6)
Newcastle: Darlow (6), Anita (6), Mbemba (6), Lascelles (6), Dummett (5), Tiote (6), Colback (5), Townsend (6), Sissoko (6), Wijnaldum (6), Cisse (5)
Subs used: Perez (5), Mitrovic (6), De Jong (6)
Man of the match: Ciaran Clark
