Villa striker Peter Crouch squandered the best chance of the half two minutes before the interval.

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It was Van der Vaart's final contribution as he was replaced by Peter Crouch, with Villa replacing the tiring Fabian Delph with veteran Robert Pires.

BBC: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham

Carbone then lashed an effort wide on the left before Paul Scholes mustered United's first shot on target with a drive straight at Peter Enckelman in the Villa goal.

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