LEIGHTON Baines still rues the dodgy decision that cost him the chance to slot a second penalty past Aston Villa on Saturday and grab Everton all three points.

The England defender scored the Toffees’ second goal from the spot against Alex McLeish’s men at Goodison, but had earlier been denied a solid penalty claim by referee Mike Oliver when he appeared to be impeded in the box by Barry Bannan.

Baines is adamant it was a foul by Bannan, but says Everton should have gone on to win the game without the benefit of the right decision.

He said: “I thought it was a penalty to be honest, my standing foot was just clipped but I asked the referee and he said the player got the ball.

“At the time I said ‘fair enough’ but looking at it again I’m not sure he did get the ball.”

Baines believes the team were encouraged by the positive atmosphere inside Goodison Park, as the Blues extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to three games.

“Out on the pitch it felt more positive and there was a better vibe around the place,” he said.

“It does show how that helps and you could probably tell that it spurred us on a little bit and we felt like everyone was behind us.

Meanwhile, Leon Osman admitted he is not a fan of the fixture against the Midlanders – after Saturday’s game became the fifth time in the last six meetings that the Villans have come from behind to draw against Everton.

Osman had given Everton the lead, only for Villa skipper Stiliyan Petrov and Gabriel Agbonlahor to both equalise.

“To go a goal up at home twice and still not win the game is disappointing, but to play as we have done and not win is really upsetting,” he said. “There have been a number of occasions where we’ve not got we deserved and they’ve managed to get a draw out of the game.

“Over the years there have been some really good games against Aston Villa, but we would like to win them.”

Osman scored his fifth career goal against Villa, his best haul against any one club. But the 30-year-old praised Tim Cahill’s contribution after the Aussie expertly crafted his first half opener. He said: “The ball went over my head, Tim touched it on and I tried to hit the first one but I think I just kicked a chunk out of his leg.

“He ran off into the corner and managed to cut it back to me and I was able to place it in the corner. I was delighted with the goal and it was good play from Tim.”