Last-gasp equaliser so hard on Taylor

A headed equaliser in injury time took the shine off what was otherwise a perfect night for Aston Villa.

Lille midfielder Fernando D'Amico nodded in to deny the Birmingham side a victory they richly deserved in northern France.

Midfielder Ian Taylor's scrambled effort 15 minutes from the end of last night's first leg seemed to have swung the InterToto Cup semifinal in Villa's favour.

Such was their domination that debutant goalkeeper Stefan Postma had just one save of note to make before the drama unfolded in the second minute of time added on.

But manager Graham Taylor put on a brave face, saying: 'This was a good, solid performance and exactly the kind of display you would expect from an away side in Europe.

'We have to concentrate on making sure we approach the second leg in a similarly positive fashion next week. I am confident we can progress.'

Villa had nothing to show for their efforts until Thomas Hitzlsperger swung over a rightwing corner and goalkeeper Gregory Wimbee parried Olof Mellberg's header into the path of 34-year-old Taylor, who managed to get enough on the ball to push it into the net.