Aston Villa moved a step closer to the Championship on Tuesday night, with Remi Garde’s doomed side losing 3-1 at home to Everton.
The game also saw a large number of the home fans stage a walk-out on 74 minutes, in protest at American owner Randy Lerner and his less than impressive stewardship of the famous club.
The atmosphere on the night was poisonous, with fans keen to vent their frustration at Villa’s freefall under Lerner, with the lack of investment in recent years paving the way for inevitable relegation.
After another dreadful 45 minutes at Villa Park it looks likes a walkout in the second half. Lerner OUT !!! pic.twitter.com/LXDxeeRqJ3
— Steve & Bara (@steve_bara) March 1, 2016
Villa Park was hardly full to start with when the protest eventually took place on 74 minutes (the club was formed in 1874)…
Not particularly the mass walkout some Villa fans hoped for, but over 10,000 of them didn’t turn up. https://t.co/RdBUl95Reg
— Joe Rimmer (@JoeRimmer88) March 1, 2016
#avfc #OTDO74 #avfclive #AVFCvEFC pic.twitter.com/mTvhSn7sNz
— Villa Underground (@avfc_vilr) March 1, 2016
That mass (ish) exit took place with the score already 3-0 to Everton, courtesy of goals from Ramiro Funes Mori, Aaron Lennon and Romelu Lukaku. However, somewhat ironically, those protesting Villa fans missed their team’s best moment of the match, when Rudy Gestede headed home on 79 minutes.
The defeat sees the Birmingham side stay bottom, a whopping eight points from safety with just 10 games to go. Sorry times for a once great club.