ASTON VILLA have been threatening to break the Big Four’s cartel, but they will have to do better than this. Victory yesterday would have seen Martin O’Neill’s team climb above Manchester United into third , but this was not the form of Champions’ League contenders.

In their previous two matches Villa had won away to Arsenal for the first time in 15 years and taken a home point against Manchester United for the first time in seven attempts. Fulham barely threatened to break another Villa sequence by winning their first league match on this ground for 35 years, but Roy Hodgson’s team defended stoutly and rode their luck when they had to. Villa had their chances, but their finishing was woeful.

Considering the positions of the two teams and the fact Villa were at home, O’Neill’s tactics were surprisingly cautious. James Milner rarely got into the game wide on the right and Gareth Barry and Steve Sidwell provided only limited support for Gabriel Agbonlahor, who ploughed a lone furrow in attack.

As is so often the case with Villa these days, it was left to Ashley Young to provide their main threat. The winger was a constant threat, whether cutting infield to shoot, crossing from wide or curling free kicks into the danger area.

Villa’s first meaningful effort saw Young end a jinking run with a crisp shot just wide. However, it was as provider that the winger came closest to breaking the deadlock before the interval. Three of his crosses found Villa men free in the area, but on each occasion their headers missed the target.

Barry’s glancing effort flew inches wide of the far post and Stiliyan Petrov headed over the bar with his back to goal before Sidwell missed the best opportunity.

Fulham, with Brede Hangeland and Aaron Hughes leading the rearguard action, appeared content to soak up the pressure. In the first half they barely threatened Brad Friedel, who was making a record 167th consecutive league appearance. On the one occasion when the Villa goalkeeper was tested he moved smartly to push Clint Dempsey’s effort from the edge of the area over.

Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson are still finding their feet as a partnership for Fulham and they struggled to find a way past Curtis Davies and Martin Laursen. When they did combine to set up Simon Davies midway through the second half the midfielder wasted a rare chance with a poor cross. Within minutes Fulham had their best opportunity. There could be no faulting the power behind Dempsey’s free shot from 10 yards, but it was straight at Friedel.

Villa’s territorial domination was even greater after the interval, but a succession of early corners failed to provide a clear-cut scoring opportunity. The closest O’Neill’s men came to a goal was after 70 minutes, when Barry met yet another cross deep into the penalty area. Mark Schwarzer appeared to fumble the Villa captain’s downward header but managed to get enough on it to deflect the ball on to the crossbar. It was that kind of afternoon.