GOING DOWN WITH THE VILLA: ASTON VILLA 0 – NEWCASTLE UNITED 0

As the game got under way, it was the beach balls rather than the football providing the entertainment.

After five minutes, Clark attempted a rather optimistic thirty-yarder that curled wide as the visitors, battling to avoid the drop, enjoyed plenty of possession on the right.

Sissoko curled the ball into the penalty area after eighteen minutes but Sisse was unable to reach the ball in time and Bunn returned to removing inflatables from the pitch.

The Magpies continued to control possession but appeared as toothless in attack as their hosts.

Cisse had an opportunity to shoot across goal after neat play from Anita in the twenty-third minute but he mis-hit his attempt and the ball rolled unthreateningly towards Bunn.

The booing of Bacuna and bouncing beach balls held the crowd’s attention when the football failed to.

Focused on trying to hit the hosts on the break, Townsend made a few promising runs that came to nothing before Cisse’s poorly-executed volley left Bunn with a simple save to make.

After a minute of stoppage time, Madley blew his whistle, mercifully ending what was possibly the worst forty-five minutes of football seen in the Premier League all season.

Just after the break, Colback spurned a glorious chance to open the scoring, blazing the ball over the crossbar from close range.

Benitez then made his first substitution, replacing Cisse with Mitrovic, who has scored some crucial goals for Newcastle United this season.

With the Magpies looking more determined, Clark conceded a free-kick in a dangerous position. The ball from Townsend failed to beat the first man but was hooked back into the penalty area, where Mitrovic lobbed it onto the roof of the net, despite having time and space.

The only real opportunity for the Villans came courtesy of Sinclair. His shot was saved by Darlow, unaware that the flag had already been raised.

Perez then replaced Tiote as the Magpies went in search of the winner they so desperately needed.

With twenty minutes left to find the net, Townsend set up Wijnaldum, whose toe-poke forced Bunn to get down to his right and make a superb save.

Three minutes later, it was Mitrovic who latched on to Colback’s cross and threatened with a powerful header that seemed to have beaten Bunn but went wide.

With the home crowd singing defiantly and hurling scarves, inflatables and miscellaneous items towards the pitch in the seventy-fourth minute, play was briefly halted.

The Villans showed a little more attacking intent in the game’s final quarter but they were unable to create meaningful chances.

Ayew burst forward after eighty-seven minutes and was rewarded with a free-kick thirty-five yards out. The Newcastle defenders managed to deal with a decent ball towards the back post before Hutton’s volley found its way into the stands.

In the six minutes of added time, the visitors pressed forward but were unable to find the winner they needed to keep their hopes of beating the drop alive. A free-kick in the final minute of play offered them a final chance to score but Townsend sent the ball into Bunn’s grateful grasp.

The draw saw the Villans end their run of eleven consecutive defeats but the shared spoils were of little use to Benitez’s men, who dropped back into the bottom three and will be anxiously watching their neighbours on Wednesday night.

Speaking post-match, Eric Black said:

“Last week, the performance at Watford merited more, but we built on that, worked tirelessly all afternoon and the supporters came with us. I thought the reaction was brilliant. The Villa fans have got a big part to play in getting this club back to the Premier League.

It has been difficult to play in a relegation battle, but we have got some outstanding footballers and I thought we coped with them today.”