Brave young Villa shown trick or two

CSKA Moscow 2 Aston Villa 0:ASTON VILLA manager Martin O'Neill will only fully appreciate the consequences of his actions come the end of the season.

Villa crashed out of the Uefa Cup at the hands of CSKA Moscow on a bitterly cold night as temperatures plummeted to minus 10, losing 2-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

O’Neill’s “second-string” side were far from disgraced on the plastic pitch of the Luzhniki Stadium and only succumbed after an hour. It was at that stage Yuri Zhirkov thundered an edge-of-the-area drive beyond an otherwise exemplary Brad Guzan.

Even then Villa were far from out of the equation in the second leg of this last-32 tie, and it was only in the third minute of injury-time that Vagner Love put the game beyond doubt.

This match, though, will be remembered for the fact O’Neill opted to keep Gareth Barry, Brad Friedel, Emile Heskey, James Milner, Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Carlos Cuellar and Stiliyan Petrov at home.

The aim is qualification for next season’s Champions League, and only come mid-May will O’Neill know if a decision he rates as the hardest in his time as Villa manager will be justified.

“I’m disappointed we’ve gone out of the competition,” said O’Neill about a side which included 19-year-old youngsters Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton making their full debuts. “Circumstances forced me into making my decision, I will have to see what the rest of the season brings to see if that disappointment is worsened.”

CSKA MOSCOW:Akinfeev, Alexei Berezutsky, Vasili Berezutsky, Ignashevich, Shchennikov, Krasic, Rahimic, Semberas, Zhirkov, Dzagoev, Vagner Love. Subs not used: Pomazan, Odiah, Carvalho, Mamaev, Erkin, Ramon, Ricardo Jesus. Booked: Dzagoev 82.

ASTON VILLA:Guzan, Luke Young, Davies (Osbourne 84), Knight, Shorey, Albrighton, Gardner, Salifou (Harewood 46) , Sidwell, Bannan, Delfouneso. Subs not used: Taylor, Lichaj, Clark, Lowry. Booked: Bannan 84, Albrighton 88.

Referee:Felix Brych (Germany)