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Birmingham: Darren Bent came off the bench to earn Aston Villa a deserved point with a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with midlands rival West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
The England striker lashed in a left-foot shot from close range in the 80th minute, denying West Brom a victory that would have lifted the team to third place. Shane Long put the visitors ahead in the 51st, guiding home a low finish after Ron Vlaar’s attempted clearance flew straight at the Ireland international.
Villa has won just one of its first six games under new manager Paul Lambert and stayed in 15th place in the 20-team standings.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku nearly won all three points for West Brom when his deflected shot brushed against the post.
Meanwhile, Andre Villas-Boas saluted his “exhausted” Tottenham players after Clint Dempsey’s second-half goal ended the club’s 23-year wait for a victory at Manchester United.
“When you see a team with so much desire hold onto a historic result, you can count on each other to do big things this year." Villas-Boas said. “That’s the most important lesson we take. At half time, we knew we weren’t going to get out of Old Trafford without a fight. Last season, I went 3-0 up at Stamford Bridge and it wasn’t enough.”
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