Birmingham curse late Milner penalty as Aston Villa keep in hunt for fourth

Oh the irony. Having complained bitterly about referees over the past couple of months and the part he believes they have played in Aston Villa's two defeats at Wembley this season, Martin O'Neill was on the receiving end of a highly fortunate decision here when Martin Atkinson erroneously awarded his side a late penalty kick that James Milner converted to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. Roger Johnson clearly got the ball as he went to ground with Gabriel Agbonlahor in the 81st minute yet Atkinson must have focused his attention on the two players colliding rather than the path of the ball. After a lengthy hold up, during which Stephen Carr did his best to make life more difficult for Milner by deliberately scuffing the penalty spot, the England international hammered his kick straight down the middle but emphatically beyond Joe Hart, who dove to his left, to give Villa a win that was far more than they deserved and incredibly cruel on Birmingham City. Villa were not without their chances before the interval but the best of the opportunities fell to Birmingham and, in particular, Sebastian Larsson. Twice the Swede found himself one-on-one with Brad Friedel but on both occasions he lacked conviction. The first chance arrived on nine minutes, after Lee Bowyer swapped passes with Cameron Jerome to create the room for a neat through ball, but when Friedel dashed from his line, Larsson's touch took him wide and he sliced behind from a tight angle. Larsson's second opening came in farcical circumstances, after Richard Dunne allowed Friedel's gentle throw-out to slip under his foot on the edge of the penalty area. Larsson pounced on the loose ball but instead of putting his foot through it, he shot tamely at goal and Friedel scrambled across his line to gratefully smother. McLeish, aware that a wonderful opportunity had been squandered, was unable to contain his frustration on the touchline as he threw his arms in the air. by Guardian Chalkboards Joe Hart was also being kept busy at the opposite end, Birmingham's goalkeeper denying Stilian Petrov and Stewart Downing before producing a brilliant fingertip save to flick a left-foot volley from James Collins over the crossbar in the 34th minute. Villa, however, were far from dominant and within five minutes of the second half starting Birmingham had come within inches of taking the lead on other three occasions. Jerome, running onto the intelligent Ferguson's through ball, saw his shot strike Friedel in the face as he bore down on goal and, with the Villa defence still in a state of panic, James McFadden cut inside before curling a left-footed effort that Carlos Cuéllar deflected wide of the post. Moments later it was Downing's turn to clear off the line, this time from a Liam Ridgewell header. Villa were hanging on and it took another Friedel block to prevent Bowyer from scoring in the 67th minute. Hart later made an excellent save to deny the Villa substitute Emile Heskey before Atkinson's poor late decision granted O'Neill and his players a reprieve that Tottenham and Manchester City, never mind Birmingham, will be cursing.