Stoke, Dec 27: Aston Villa and Stoke were both denied by the woodwork Monday as the midlands rivals settled for a 0-0 draw in the Premier League.
Marc Wilson came closest to grabbing a winner for Stoke when his header from a corner in the 69th minute struck the underside of the crossbar before being bundled away on the goalline by Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Stoke thought they had scored, but television replays suggested the referee was correct in judging that the entire ball had not crossed the line.
In a first half without many scoring chances, Emile Heskey nearly put Villa ahead in the 21st when his header from a corner struck the left-hand post with goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen well beaten.
Heskey was later substituted with a recurrence of his Achilles problem.
