Wolves 1 Aston Villa 1 - Post analysis

Oct 26 2009 by Lisa Smith, Birmingham Post

Mick McCarthy will be hoping every cloud has a “Sylvan” lining after his top scorer of the past two seasons delivered the crucial 83rd minute penalty which ensured his side a vital point against derby rivals Aston Villa.

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was banging in goals for fun in the Coca-Cola Championship, scoring 25 last season alone, but his first goal in the Premier League had to come from the penalty spot.

The Wolves boss was thrilled to see “Wanderers’ No.9” smash the ball into the net to wipe out a Gabriel Agbonlahor strike minutes earlier.

McCarthy was also pleased with Ebanks-Blake’s late show after once again seeing his side done a disservice by a referee who failed to award a penalty after a tussle between the two side’s Republic of Ireland internationals.

Wolves have had their fair share of penalty appeals ignored this season, after good shouts went begging against Sunderland and Portsmouth, and Peter Walton was soon wiping himself off McCarthy’s Christmas card list when he waved play on despite Richard Dunne’s tangle with Kevin Doyle.

But the referee was spot on when he awarded a penalty for Steve Sidwell’s clumsy challenge on Michael Kightly – the resulting spot kick proving no problem at all for Ebanks-Blake.

McCarthy said: “We should have had a penalty early on when Doyle was fouled. He didn’t go down but it was a penalty – Dunne had his wallet off him.

“The referee gave what he thought was the right decision but he got it wrong.

“The way things are going, though, we should have a great second half with penalties galore,” he quipped.

Villa boss Martin O’Neill was less enamoured with his side after seeing them trouble keeper Wayne Hennessey just a couple of times, lacking the menace that had brought them victory over Chelsea last week.

The last time Villa visited Molineux was for a 4-0 win, but this time they saw their chances limited and their players ruffled by a vocal home support.

O’Neill later admitted that his team had struggled.