CAREW IS SWEET ON TOFFEES.. Big John saves point for Villa: EVERTON 1 Bilyaletdinov 46 mins ASTON VILLA 1 Carew 47 mins.

Byline: MAT KENDRICK

SUPER sub John Carew's insatiable taste for Toffees earned Aston Villa a point after he stepped off the bench to equalise against Everton.

The Norwegian opened his Premier League account for the season with his first touch after replacing James Milner.

And it continued an impressive run for Carew who has now scored in his past four top-flight games against Everton.

His equaliser within a minute of the restart cancelled out an opener from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov just on half-time.

And for the second successive season there was a dramatic finale as both teams were reduced to 10 men by Lee Probert.

Bilyaletdinov was red carded for a twofooted lunge on Stiliyan Petrov before Carlos Cuellar was harshly sent off following his second booking.

"Obviously I'm delighted we got something out of the game," said O'Neill. "I thought we coped reasonably well in the first half and to concede just in stoppage time was particularly galling for us. "We got back into it early on in the second half and I thought for a while we might go on to win it, but on reflection a draw was a fair result."

Steve Sidwell had opened the scoring in last season's fixture with the fastest goal of the Premier League season after just 31 seconds.

But it took 31 minutes for either side to create an effort on goal during a fixture which failed to live up to the three 2008-09 tussles.

Disappointed Yakubu, who was lively from the start, was the first to threaten for the home side on the half-hour and should have hit the target with a header from John Heitinga's cross.

The Nigerian powerhouse also forced Brad Friedel to claw a swirling ball from under the bar as Everton dominated.

But on the day the American veteran celebrated a record that is unlikely to be beaten, Friedel will be disappointed to be beaten for the Toffees goal.

In his 200th consecutive top flight appearance there was an interval inquest over who was to blame for Bilyaletdinov's stoppage time strike.

Richard Dunne appeared to be angry at having to cover Stephen Warnock's left back berth and hesitated over dealing with a long ball.

It fell to the feet of Tim Cahill who hooked over a cross which broke kindly off Yakubu under pressure from James Collins near the penalty spot.

Bilyaletdinov was perfectly placed to seize upon the loose ball. The goal came at a terrible time for Villa who despite being below par did create two decent chances towards the end of the first half.

Warnock's was the best when a header by fellow full-back Cuellar teed him up for a left-foot volley which he scuffed.

It added to the frustration of the Liverpudlian left-back who midway through the half was a victim of mistaken identity when he was booked for a foul Petrov committed.

Emile Heskey then fired an angled drive wide from a similar position.

The perennial rivals for fifth place shared 15 goals between them last term with Villa winning 3-2 away in the league, Everton winning 3-1 at home in the FA Cup and the teams playing out a 3-3 top flight draw at Villa Park.

But one goal always looked enough to earn O'Neill's away day battlers a point and it came courtesy of a tactical masterstroke from the manager. His decision to replace the injured and off-colour James Milner paid dividends when Carew levelled within a minute of entering the field.

Warnock's deep cross created a shooting chance for Gabby Agbonlahor which Howard saved and Carew pounced to roll in the rebound from eight yards out.

Cheeky If Everton are lucky opponents for Carew then Goodison is a happy hunting ground for O'Neill who has never lost a league game there with Villa or Leicester.

And he must have been dreaming of a repeat of last season's win when Carew's cheeky back-heel following a quick free kick forced Howard into action. Warnock went close with a volley and Agbonlahor. who unintentionally blocked a first-half strike from Collins, headed wide from a corner.

Villa were forced to defend determinedly as the Toffees faithful roared their underachieving team forward in a bid to kickstart their stuttering league form.

It was during the frantic finale however when Bilyaletdinov was dismissed for cynically crashing into Petrov and Cuellar soon followed him off the field.

The Spaniard - unlucky to be booked for a challenge on Leighton Baines - was controversially red-carded after another harsh caution for his tackle on Yakubu. EVERTON (4-5-1): Howard; Neill, Distin, Yobo, Baines; Cahill, Heitinga, Fellaini (Saha 73), Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov; Yakubu (Jo 90). Subs not used: Nash, Saha, Jo, Gosling, Coleman, Duffy, Agard.

VILLA (4-4-2): Friedel; Cuellar, Collins, Dunne, Warnock; Milner (Carew 46), Petrov (Reo-Coker 90), Sidwell, A Young, Heskey, Agbonlahor. Subs not used: L Young, Delph, Shorey, Guzan, Beye.

STAR MAN: Stiliyan Petrov.

CAPTION(S):

FEEL-GOOD FACTOR: John Carew celebrates yet another important goal for Villa at Goodison Park yesterday YAK ATTACK: James Collins challenges Ayegbeni Yakubu HAIR-RAISER: Richard Dunne denies Marouane Fellaini RED ALERT: Villa's Carlos Cuellar tackles Yakubu but was then promptly sent off DIN HE DO WELL: Everton goalscorer Diniyar Bilyaletdinov