Scott Sinclair grabbed a hat trick (sound familiar?) as Aston Villa drew at Nottingham Forest while they were also draws for Bournemouth and Crystal Palace whilst Everton lose at Leeds
Scott Sinclair bagged a stunning hat-trick as Villa rounded off their pre-season programme with a draw against Nottingham Forest.
Sinclair made a strong claim for a starting spot in next Saturday's Barclays Premier League opener at Bournemouth by netting a terrific treble after Dexter Blackstock had given Forest an early lead.
But Villa were unable to hold on for a victory as Henri Lansbury and Kelvin Wilson struck late on for Dougie Freedman's side.
AFC Bournemouth completed their preparations for the Barclays Premier League opening weekend with a 0-0 draw at Hoffenheim.
The Cherries outplayed their Bundesliga opponents for almost 90 minutes, but were denied victory by the outstanding performance of goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Dan Gosling, Callum Wilson, Shaun MacDonald and Matt Ritchie all had efforts saved by the German stopper at the Rhine-Neckar Arena in the club’s final pre-season friendly.
A youthful Everton side were beaten 2-0 at Elland Road by Leeds United.
Both sides had a goal ruled out in the first half but strikes in the second half from Alex Mowatt and Chris Wood secured the win for Leeds.
Roberto Martinez: "It was a good exercise for our young talent
"Through all the good work they have been doing we are producing some really good footballers. "But it is clear that we need to get them that experience in league football.
"I thought it was a good game in that respect against a Championship team at full strength. I thought we competed really well. There were few chances but I thought we should have taken ours."
Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Ben Pringle gave the home side the lead after just six minutes but Palace equalised on 49 minutes through Pape Souare and, despite the better chances in the game were unable to convert it into a win that they deserved.