Everton ride luck to snatch win at Wigan

January 30, 2010


Tim Cahill’s late goal earned in-form Everton a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory at Wigan on Saturday that extends their unbeaten run to nine matches in the Premier League.

The visitors were indebted to off-colour finishing from a string of Wigan players, with Hugo Rodallega, Jason Scotland and substitute Paul Scharner all unable to convert presentable chances before Cahill struck in the 84th minute.

The Australian international midfielder, who also scored in the 2-0 mid-week win over Sunderland, was allowed to run unchecked onto Leighton Baines’s corner and he beat Vladimir Stojkovic with a powerful header.

Everton’s crossbar was rattled deep into injury time when Charles N’Zogbia crashed a rising drive against the woodwork, giving Everton their final let-off on an afternoon of close shaves.

Victory allows David Moyes’s side to edge to within two points of eighth-placed Birmingham, while Wigan remain 14th.

The visitors saw most of the ball in the game’s early stages but Wigan soon began to find gaps at the other end and their forwards Scotland and Rodallega both spurned chances to put the hosts in front.

First Rodallega was denied by Tim Howard in the Everton goal after Scotland set him free and when Rodallega returned the favour moments later, the former Swansea man blazed well over.

Everton handed a first start to on-loan Arsenal centre-back Philippe Senderos and his timely touch prevented Rodallega from putting Wigan in front just short of the half-hour as the Colombian prepared to pull the trigger.

Louis Saha had a strong penalty appeal waved away after tussling with Wigan new boy Gary Caldwell shortly before half-time, while Wigan old boy Baines tested Stojkovic from a free-kick early in the second period.

Controversy ensued shortly after when N’Zogbia was bundled over by Jonny Heitinga right on the edge of the Everton area.

The Wigan players appealed for a penalty but Alan Wiley gave a free-kick and the home side were unable to take advantage.

In their push for a breakthrough Wigan introduced Scharner, who has scored four of his 13 Premier League goals against the Toffees, and he twice went close, volleying over the crossbar and then shooting straight at Howard with 18 minutes to play.

LONDON (AFP)

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Kalinic helps Blackburn sink Wigan

January 28, 2010


Blackburn pulled clear of the English Premier League relegation zone as Nikola Kalinic’s late goal clinched a 2-1 win over Wigan on Wednesday.

Sam Allardyce’s side had slipped dangerously close to the relegation zone in recent weeks but this victory, which followed a league success against Fulham, has rocketed Rovers up to 11th place.

They took the lead through Morten Gamst Pedersen’s first half strike and although Gary Caldwell equalised after the break, Croatia striker Kalinic popped up with his first league goal for Rovers with 14 minutes to play at Ewood Park.

With Chris Kirkland ruled out with a collarbone injury, Wigan boss Roberto Martinez handed a league debut to Serbia goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.

Rovers should have taken the lead in the opening moments when David Hoilett crossed to the far post and Steven Nzonzi headed back into the path of Kalinic, but the Croatian’s close-range shot hit a post and rebounded to safety.

That only delayed the inevitable as Blackburn dominated the early stages and took the lead in spectacular fashion in the 20th minute.

Former Sporting Lisbon goalkeeper Stojkovic sprinted off his line through a crowd of players to punch clear Brett Emerton’s free-kick.

But he made a weak conection and the ball dropped perfectly for Pedersen to smash a long-range strike back past the out-of-position keeper and into the top corner for his seventh goal of the season.

Charles N’Zogbia came close to equalising after half an hour when he whipped in a dipping shot that Paul Robinson tipped over at full-stretch.

Wigan were beginning to get control in midfield and they threatened again when James McCarthy touched on Hugo Rodallega’s free-kick towards Paul Scharner.

It seemed certain Scharner would dive to head home but he opted not to throw himself at the ball and the danger passed.

The momentum remained with Wigan at the start of the second half and the visitors drew level in the 58th minute.

McCarthy’s corner wasn’t cleared by the Rovers defence and Caldwell rose above Pascal Chimbonda to head home from three yards for his first goal since his recent move from Celtic.

Rovers almost regained the lead instantly when Emerton’s cross found Pedersen, who rose above Mario Melchiot and headed past Stojkovic, only to see his effort cannon off the crossbar.

Allardyce’s side didn’t have to wait long to get the winner. In the 76th minute, Kalinic stooped to reach Pedersen’s corner and the former Hajduk Split star headed home to seal the points.

BLACKBURN (AFP)

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United rout Wigan to stay in touch with Chelsea

December 31, 2009


Manchester United closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to just two points after ending 2009 with a superb 5-0 demolition of Wigan on Wednesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side produced the perfect response to Chelsea’s win over Fulham on Monday, which had stretched the west London’s club advantage to five points, as goals from Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Rafael Da Silva, Dimitar Berbatov and former Wigan star Antonio Valencia tore Wigan to pieces at Old Trafford.

The injury-hit reigning champions had been written off after recent defeats to Aston Villa and Fulham, but they head into the New Year suddenly in the rudest of health.

South Korean Won-Hee Cho made his first start of the season for Wigan as he came in for Jason Scotland but the visitors were otherwise unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.

Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was absent from the United team as he is on indefinite compassionate leave to care for his sick wife, Annmarie, who has suffered a brain haemorrhage.

History has not been kind to Wigan in this fixture as they have lost all nine previous Premier League encounters with United, culminating in the 5-0 thrashing Ferguson’s men delivered at the DW Stadium at the start of this season.

Roberto Martinez’s team arrived with damage limitation in mind and played with a clearly negative approach early on which briefly neutralised United’s attacking prowess.

However, the home side finally started to make a significant impression after 20 minutes when the sheer weight of their possession started to pay dividends.

Firstly, Titus Bramble made a stunning penalty box tackle on Berbatov which somehow stopped him from getting his shot away before teammate Paul Scharner followed that example 30 seconds later when he cleared a Nemanja Vidic effort off the line.

Then Rooney then hit the post from an impossibly tight angle just a minute later as fortune favoured Wigan.

However, luck only lasts so long in the Premier League until other qualities are needed. Wigan did not possess them but United did, which was why Rooney finally gave United the lead after 28 minutes.

Da Silva delivered the simplest of crosses from the right wing and Rooney ghosted into the front post to get a crucial touch on the ball to steer past Chris Kirkland for his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

It was soon 2-0 as four minutes later, Carrick, who had otherwise been anonymous throughout the opening parts of the encounter, latched onto a pass from former Wigan winger Valencia to calmly steer into the bottom corner.

Wigan’s day then got even worse just seconds before the interval when Da Silva was given far too much room in the box and he drove past Kirkland to make it 3-0.

Mike Pollitt replaced Kirkland at the break but his luck was no better, conceding Wigan’s fourth goal to Berbatov just five minutes after the re-start.

Berbatov got his sixth league goal of the season as he poked past Pollitt from close range in an encounter that was becoming an embarrassment for Wigan.

Charles N’Zogbia missed a decent chance for the visitors as they showed a tiny glimpse of flair but the fact he crashed his shot wide from close out summed up their performance.

And when Valencia brilliantly clipped home a fifth goal in the 75th minute, United’s dominance and Wigan’s humiliation was complete.

MANCHESTER, England (AFP)

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Austria hit by injury crisis ahead of WC qualifier

September 29, 2009


Austria will miss five regular starters because of injuries for next month’s 2010 World Cup qualifying games against Lithuania and France.

Defenders Emanuel Pogatetz, Martin Stranzl and Sebastian Proedl, along with strikers Rubin Okotie and Marko Arnautovic were all missing from the 22-man squad announced Tuesday by Austria coach Dietmar Constantini.

Defender Gyoergy Garics and former captain Andreas Ivanschitz, who was expected to return to the team for the first time under Constantini, were both overlooked.

LASK Linz midfielder Thomas Prager received his first call-up since February 2008.

Three players could make their first appearance in the team – goalkeeper Christian Gratzei, defender Ekrem Dag and midfielder Christopher Drazan.

Austria has a slim chance of reaching the qualifying playoffs from Group 7.

It needs France to drop at least two points against the Faeroe Islands, and it must beat both Lithuania in Innsbruck on Oct. 10 and France in Paris four days later.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Christian Gratzei (Sturm Graz), Helge Payer (Rapid Vienna), Andreas Schranz (Austria Kaernten).

Defenders: Ekrem Dag (Besiktas), Aleksandar Dragovic (Austria Vienna), Christian Fuchs (Bochum), Manuel Ortlechner (Austria Vienna), Juergen Patocka (Rapid Vienna), Paul Scharner (Wigan), Franz Schiemer (Salzburg), Andreas Ulmer (Salzburg).

Midfielders: Julian Baumgartlinger (Austria Vienna), Daniel Beichler (Sturm Graz), Christopher Drazan (Rapid Vienna), Andreas Hoelzl (Sturm Graz), Jakob Jantscher (Sturm Graz), Yasin Pehlivan (Rapid Vienna), Thomas Prager (LASK Linz).

Forwards: Erwin Hoffer (Napoli), Marc Janko (Salzburg), Stefan Maierhofer (Wolverhampton), Roman Wallner (LASK Linz).

Abhimanyu Rajput

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Ancelotti expects Chelsea to respond to Wigan setback

September 27, 2009


Carlo Ancelotti has promised Chelsea will provide a response when they travel to Apoel Nicosia after suffering their first defeat under the Italian.

The Blues head to Nicosia for Champions League duty on Wednesday hoping to make up for a miserable 3-1 defeat at Wigan on Saturday.

It was the first time they have been beaten since March and the first time they had lost since former AC Milan coach Ancelotti took over at Stamford Bridge in the close-season.

The concern for the Italian is that Ashley Cole and John Obi Mikel could both miss the Champions League match after sustaining injuries at the DW Stadium.

Cole picked up a knee injury that forced him to be carried off while midfielder Mikel suffered an ankle problem.

Ancelotti is also facing up to the fact that Henrique Hilario will have to fill in for Petr Cech against Liverpool next Sunday, after the Czech goalkeeper was sent off in the defeat to the Latics.

Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Stoke meant that Sir Alex Ferguson’s team moved above Chelsea on goal difference.

But while Ancelotti wants to see more from his team in Nicosia, he expects to fight United all the way in the title race.

He said: “I think that there will be a lot of competition until the end of the season.

“I don’t know why we lost at Wigan because we prepared very well and we knew what was important.

“This can happen after a lot of victories and we have to accept this loss and fix it in the next match in the Champions League.

“I don’t think we were over-confident. In football it can happen that one day it?s not good and now we have to look forward.”

Titus Bramble opened the scoring against the Londoners before Dider Drogba equalised a minute after the restart.

But after Cech was sent off for tripping Hugo Rodallega, the Colombian converted the resulting spot-kick before Paul Scharner added Wigan?s third in the closing stages.

Latics manager Roberto Martinez felt Wigan have shown how to play against Chelsea after picking up a first victory over a ‘big four’ team in 35 attempts.

He said: “The only way that you can upset Chelsea a little bit is to not allow them the ball, not allow them to feel themselves and they found it difficult in that respect but the moment you switch off you’re going to be punished.

“All the positive things we did were backed up by the concentration levels at the back and it was a complete performance.

“When you are a team like Wigan and you’ve got Chelsea at home, you’ve got two options. You can be brave and beat them or you can get hammered.

“In the the last two games (against Manchester United and Arsenal) we lost 5-0 and 4-0 and the only reason that we won against Chelsea was that we maintained our standards, we learned our lessons and we were brave from the first second.”

WIGAN, England (AFP)

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Ancelotti suffers first defeat as Chelsea slump to Wigan

September 26, 2009


Wigan handed 10-man Chelsea a first defeat under Carlo Ancelotti as the Latics took advantage of Petr Cech’s dismissal to win 3-1 at the DW Stadium on Saturday.

The Blues had won all six of their Premier League matches since Ancelotti arrived from AC Milan in the close-season.

But Wigan over-powered Chelsea with a dominant display. Roberto Martinez’s side, who had won just twice so far this season, took the lead through Titus Bramble.

Didier Drogba looked to have restored order when he levelled just after the restart with his 100th Chelsea goal.

But the key moment came when Cech tore out to trip Rodallega, earning himself a red card. The Columbian lashed in the spot-kick before Paul Scharner added a late third.

Chelsea, who surrendered top spot to Manchester United, were first to threaten when Frank Lampard skipped a free kick through the wall only for Chris Kirkland to save.

At the other end Hendry Thomas gave Cech an early test with a rifled free kick that the Czech goalkeeper held with a scrambling save.

Just before the quarter of an hour mark, Charles N’Zogbia cut on fro the right and slipped Jason Scotland through but the Trinidad front-man’s strike thumped away off Cech.

And shortly after that Chelsea went to sleep at a Wigan corner and the Latics took a shock lead.

Ancelotti’s side failed to react as N’Zogbia was given the time and space to cross for an unmarked Bramble to guide in a header.

The Londoners looked for an immediate response but Florent Malouda’s through-ball saw Drogba waste the opening.

Wigan looked confident and slick on the ball and Scharner fired straight at Cech after another classy passing move.

And Cech had to be alert again to hold a stinging N’Zogbia drive from another free kick.

Another opening passed for the hosts when strong play from Scotland saw the front-man off-load to Scharner, who scooped over the bar.

Scharner slipped as he was about to shoot after swapping passes with N’Zogbia and bursting into the area.

Only a well-timed slide from John Terry stopped Scotland firing in after the ex-Swansea man seized on hesitation from Ricardo Carvalho.

From the corner that followed, Wigan again played short and N’Zogbia’s hanging cross was knocked back in for Emmerson Boyce to force a fine block from Cech.

Just two mintues after the restart, Chelsea pulled level.

Malouda found space down the left and crossed for Drogba to scuff his shot through Kirkland’s legs for his sixth goal of the season.

The Blues almost pulled in front when Carvalho found Terry and his snap-shot deflected wide off Bramble.

But five minutes later, the match was blown wide open once again when Cech was given a straight red for clipping Rodallega after the Columbian was sent through by N’Zogbia.

And substitute goalkeeper Hilario’s first action was to pick the ball out of the back of his net after Rodallega blasted the spot-kick straight down the middle.

Scharner could have added a third for Wigan but dragged his shot wide from just outside the area.

When substitute Salomon Kalou swung at thin air and then lashed over the bar in the space of a couple of minutes, Chelsea must have realised it would not be their day.

And after Ashley Cole was carried off, Scharner tapped in Maynor Figueroa’s cross to complete Chelsea’s misery in the 90th minute.

WIGAN, England (AFP)

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Arsenal bounce back in style with Wigan win

September 19, 2009


Arsenal bounced back from last week’s traumatic defeat at Manchester City with centreback Thomas Vermaelen scoring twice in a 4-0 stroll against Wigan.

Croatia international Eduardo claimed the third although the ball found the net via a deflection off Emmanuel Eboue and Cesc Fabregas notched a fourth in stoppage time as Arsene Wenger’s side turned on the style at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal?s players had been left nursing a few bruises and damaged egos after their 4-2 defeat at Eastlands.

But they made amends here and sent out a clear signal that they intend to be part of the title race this season.

Wenger saw his side outplayed in Manchester and then suffer a scare in midweek when they were forced to overturn an early two-goal deficit to beat Standard Liege 3-2 in the Champions League.

The Frenchman had claimed that fightback would give his side a significant confidence boost and that appeared vindicated here as they cruised past a below-par Wigan side.

Arsenal were without their first choice goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, who is suffering from a chest infection, while Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin was also sidelined by a groin problem.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez stuck with the side that had beaten West Ham last weekend but must have wondered if he had erred as Arsenal quickly assumed control before Vermaelen headed them in front midway through the opening period.

The Belgium international was unmarked in the Wigan box as he rose to nod in Robin van Persie’s corner.

It was no less than the home side deserved having already generated chances for van Persie, William Gallas and Abou Diaby to open the scoring.

Eboue should have made it 2-0 in the 35th minute when he was played in by van Persie with only Chris Kirkland to beat.

But the Ivory Coast international dragged his shot well wide when he should have hit the target.

That miss provided the necessary spark to get Wigan back into this match as they enjoyed their best spell of pressure five minutes before half-time.

Hugo Rodallega did his best to outmuscle the impressive Vermaelen while Mohamed Diame was only denied a clear shot at goal by a last-ditch tackle by Bacary Sagna.

Van Persie squandered another chance in first half stoppage time. The Wigan defence were nowhere to be seen when he chested down Fabregas? free-kick but despite his acrobatic kick, he was unable to hit the target, while Eduardo failed to slide home the follow up.

Arsenal resumed control after the break and it was no surprise when Vermaelen made it 2-0 in the 49th minute.

The defender picked up the ball in midfield, played a one-two with Eboue before calmly lofting the ball past Kirkland.

Wigan looked shaky and a third goal was duly conceded after Eduardo sprinted forward and unleashed a low shot which beat Kirkland only to strike the upright.

The ball rebounded into the box and the Croatia striker slotted past a static Wigan defence, although the strike took a deflection off Eboue on the way over the line.

Wigan thought they had scored an unlikely consolation when Jason Scotland?s effort found its way to fellow sub Paul Scharner.

The Austrian defender thumped the ball past Vito Mannone but saw his effort chalked off for offside.

Fabregas completed the scoring late on when he turned in Nicklas Bendtner?s cross at the near post with a neat finish.

LONDON (AFP)

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Baines penalty gets Everton off the mark at last

August 31, 2009


Everton climbed off the bottom of the Premier League as Leighton Baines’s late penalty snatched a 2-1 win against Wigan on Sunday.

David Moyes’ side had lost their first two league games this season and they were heading for another defeat when Paul Scharner gave Wigan a second-half lead at Goodison Park.

But Louis Saha equalised and, in stoppage time, Emmerson Boyce hauled down Jo and Baines stepped up to crash home the spot-kick.

Victory was much-needed for Moyes, who had moved quickly to spend some of the 24 million pounds received from Manchester City for Joleon Lescott.

The Toffees boss handed a debut to French defender Sylvain Distin, while another new signing, Russia winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, got his debut as a late substitute.

Moyes hopes to make more signings before the transfer window closes on Tuesday and he said: “We’ve got one or two things going on and I’ll be disappointed if we don’t have at least one or two new faces in here by Tuesday evening.”

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez added: “The character in the squad has never been in doubt.

“We’re growing in every game and the results are not reflecting the good work of the players in the league. I don’t think we’re getting what we deserve.”

Moyes must have hoped the end of the Lescott saga and new faces putting pressure on his established stars would give Everton the lift they needed to get their campaign up and running.

They started brightly enough as Tim Cahill directed a diving header just wide from Baines’s corner.

A fine move almost broke the deadlock afer half an hour. Jack Rodwell’s turn and pass found Leon Osman, who instantly sent Cahill racing away down the left.

The Australian’s cross found Saha powering into the six-yard box, but Mike Pollitt managed to get his body in the way of the striker’s shot.

After being thrashed by Manchester United and knocked out of the League Cup by Championship club Blackpool, Wigan had a point to prove and shuddering tackles were the order of the day for Martinez’s team.

Even Moyes felt the strength of Wigan’s tackling. He bent down to collect the ball as it crossed the touchline in front of him, and he was sent spinning by Hendry Thomas, who was sliding in trying to keep it in play.

Saha fired a cross-shot narrowly past the far post after bursting onto Tony Hibbert’s pass.

Wigan broke the deadlock in the 57th minutes when Charles N’Zogbia crossed and Scharner arrived unmarked to arrow a diving header past Tim Howard.

Jordi Gomez was unlucky not to increase Wigan’s lead as he side-footed a Mario Melchiot cross against a post.

But Everton’s fightback started in the 62nd minute when Saha headed home Baines’s corner.

Everton defender Joseph Yobo’s header was cleared off the line before Cahill nodded wide.

Wigan substitute Scott Sinclair, on loan from Chelsea, should have won it when he sprinted clear, only to have his shot blocked by Howard.

But, three minutes into injury time, Boyce brought down Jo, and Baines smashed home the penalty.

LIVERPOOL (AFP)

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Keogh ruins Martinez´s Wigan return

August 19, 2009


Wolverhampton forward Andrew Keogh ruined Wigan boss Roberto Martinez’s first home match in charge of the Latics as his early goal clinched a 1-0 win on Tuesday.

Former Wigan midfielder Martinez saw his side win 2-0 at Aston Villa in Saturday’s Premier League opener, but his homecoming at the DW Stadium ended in disappointment thanks to Keogh’s header.

Wigan pressed hard for an equaliser but the visitors battled gamely to hold onto their first victory since promotion from the Championship last season.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy was without former Manchester United striker Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, who had a hamstring injury, while captain Jody Craddock made the 500th start of his club career.

But Keogh filled in nicely for Ebanks-Blake. He was close to putting McCarthy’s men ahead in the second minute when he cut back onto his right foot to curl a shot which struck the far post.

Keogh didn’t have to wait long to open the scoring. In the sixth minute the Republic of Ireland international rose above Paul Scharner to glance Nenad Milijas’s free-kick past Chris Kirkland and in off the post.

It was Wolves’ first Premier League goal since 2004 and they should have had another soon after. This time Keogh was the provider as his flick found Greg Halford, only for the unmarked midfielder to shoot over.

Wigan gradually began to exert some pressure of their own. Martinez’s team had the ball in the net when Jordi Gomez headed in Charles N’Zogbia’s free-kick but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Latics defender Titus Bramble headed wide from a corner, then N’Zogbia squandered a glorious chance when he ran on to Hugo Rodallega’s flick only to shoot tamely at Wayne Hennessey.

Wolves appealed for a penalty when Keogh was caught by Bramble’s out-stretched foot, but referee Mick Jones booked the forward for diving.

Martinez made a double substitution in the 61st minute, sending on striker Jason Scotland and on-loan Chelsea winger Scott Sinclair for Michael Brown and Jason Koumas.

Sinclair headed Gomez’s cross agonisingly wide at the far post and Scharner fired over in the last chance of the game as Wolves survived.

WIGAN (AFP)

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Martinez makes history as Wigan win at Villa

August 15, 2009


Martin O’Neill suffered another Wigan nightmare at Villa Park after Roberto Martinez took just one game to etch his name into the Latics’ record books here on Saturday.

Hugo Rodallega and Jason Koumas both struck to gift new boss Martinez a dream start and secured Wigan’s first opening day win in the Premier League.

Martinez was laughed at when he promised to bring his style of sexy football from former club Swansea but his classy side made Champions League hopefuls Villa look total chumps.

Villa have never beaten Wigan at home in five meetings and O’Neill will surely be pleading with the club’s American owner, Randy Lerner, for more funds to boost his tiny squad.

Former Celtic manager O’Neill’s squad is still so small his players struggle to fill the team coach, despite three pre-season signings.

There were debuts here for six million pounds wonder-kid Fabian Delph and ex-Newcastle star Habib Beye – but both suffered horror shows.

If points were handed out in the style stakes Martinez would coast it over most bosses and his team also looked accomplished in the Spaniard’s first outing in the Premier League.

Martinez was nearly celebrating in the 16th minute as Villa’s defence appeared to be having a siesta, with Charles N’Zogbia striking the upright with a low drive.

Incredibly, Wigan came even closer four minutes later when Villa winger James Milner performed heroics to hack Rodallega’s header off the line – with the visitors convinced it had crossed over for a goal.

But the Latics finally made their pressure count on the half hour in spectacular style.

Paul Scharner’s hopeful pass was inadvertently headed backwards by Nicky Shorey and Rodallega took the ball over his shoulder and arrowed an excellent shot over Brad Friedel into the top corner.

Villa’s most threatening moments came from the forward surges of Ashley Young, who tormented Mario Melchiot throughout the first half.

England winger Young nearly drew Villa level towards the end of the half but his free-kick was superbly saved by Chris Kirkland.

But the boos that rang in Villa’s ears as they trudged off at half-time grew even louder in the 56th minute.

Wales international Koumas capitalised on hesitant defending from Beye to break into the area and squeeze a shot under Friedel.

Villa hardly mounted a late fightback and their best chance saw Young’s close-range effort brilliantly deflected over the bar by Titus Bramble.

BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP)

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