Aston Villa 3 - 3 Everton

THE smile on the face of the manager said it all.

It was not Martin O’Neill, though. Nor was it David Moyes.

But 120 miles down the road, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger must surely have been beaming as the chasing pack effectively dropped out of the Champions League hunt.

The Premier League’s nearly men had cut each other’s throats. Yet in a wonderfully civilised, goal-laden way.

Villa’s fans will long remember the way their players fought back from 2-0 and 3-1 down.

Strikes from Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill in the first 25 minutes seemed to have given Everton an unassailable lead.

But they turned out to be just the starters in a remarkable goal feast.

John Carew sparked Villa hopes with his fourth strike in six games, only for Steven Pienaar to restore the advantage.

Then James Milner curled home a free-kick and Gareth Barry whacked a 65th-minute penalty past Tim Howard to cap an extraordinary afternoon.

Everton’s travelling supporters can now look forward to next Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United with something approaching optimism.

Yet a six-goal thriller does not disguise the fact the fifth and sixth-placed teams are only one point better off than before kick-off — and the gap to the Gunners is growing as the games run out.

Moyes virtually conceded the fight to break the cartel that is the Big Four is now a forlorn one.

At least he has a Wembley date to look forward to. Villa, on the back of a 10-game run without a victory, are virtually in league no- man’s-land for the final few weeks.

O’Neill’s exciting bunch of youngsters do not lack spirit, character or talent. But they have seemingly forgotten what it is to win.

And when O’Neill conducts his summer post-mortem on the campaign, he will have to accept that home form has been the weakest link. Five wins at Villa Park is a bottom-five return.

There was almost a sense of ‘Oh no, not again’ after 19 minutes when Leighton Baines crossed and Fellaini snapped up his fourth goal in five matches. Four minutes later Villa heads were in hands again. Cahill aimed his first header from Pienaar’s corner against the bar but made no mistake at the second attempt.

Not surprisingly, the visitors grew in stature and confidence, with Pienaar shooting wide and Cahill testing Brad Friedel.

Then a little ray of sunshine called Carew pierced the Villa gloom.

Milner crossed from the right, a defensive header fell to Barry who squared the ball back across goal. Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor failed to connect but big striker Carew was deadly from five yards.

Villa were convinced they should have had a penalty when Carew went down under a Joleon Lescott challenge just before half-time. And only a crucial clearance by Phil Neville prevented the Norwegian grabbing a second.

But Everton soon knocked the wind out of their sails again as the excellent Pienaar made it 3-1 in the 58th minute.

O’Neill has never lost five successive league matches in his managerial career but must have feared an unwanted first at that stage. His players have been knocked from pillar to post ever since going out of the FA Cup at Everton in February.

O’Neill has had one question answered, though. His players do not give up easily.

Exactly 60 seconds after Pienaar’s potentially lethal blow, Cahill had no option but to baulk Barry on a run. Up stepped Milner, who executed a perfect free-kick over the wall and past Howard.

Goodison boss Moyes was then convinced Lescott should have been punished by an indirect free-kick rather than a penalty after his boot grazed Stiliyan Petrov on the forehead.

Lescott clearly connected accidentally but his foot was high and referee Howard Webb had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Villa skipper Barry stepped up and blasted the ball past Howard.

The season’s fade-out could have serious consequences for Villa in terms of hanging on to Barry. Yet no one can dispute what he has given for the cause.

In fact, Barry will be as disappointed as O’Neill that a campaign which promised so much has petered out in the way it has.

As for Everton, a glamour date with United beckons. Moyes deserves some reward for the fantastic job he is doing.