Villa lose the appetite

John Gregory had described the visit of Sunderland as a bread and butter fixture following champagne displays against Liverpool…

John Gregory had described the visit of Sunderland as a bread and butter fixture following champagne displays against Liverpool and Manchester United. In the event, Villa, confronted by opponents nursing the hangover of their League Cup exit to Sheffield Wednesday, lost their appetite and left their manager with the bitter taste of disappointment.

"Victory at Liverpool should be followed up by a win at home," Gregory said. "But there was a lack of urgency from some of my players; perhaps they felt it would be easy.

"We've got to set our standards higher than that, especially if we are to realise our ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League."

Gregory's feeling of let down says much about the way his team has started the season, and Villa's early play, with Paul Merson and Darius Vassell in the forefront, smacked of confidence gained from the success at Anfield and near miss against the champions. It was characterised by neat flicks and defence-challenging one-twos.

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But, perversely, their best effort in what became a torpid first half owed much to the Wimbledon Book of Soccer Tactics, 1988 edition. Peter Schmeichel launched a long clearance, Dion Dublin headed the ball on and Vassell's left-foot volley forced the diving Jurgen Macho to concede a corner.

Schmeichel became their saviour when an inswinging right wing corner resulted in Niall Quinn's header being palmed to safety by the Dane. While Villa's more ambitious approach in the second period suggested a few choice words from Gregory, the end product remained the same. Likewise Sunderland.

"I thought we passed the ball quite well but were unable to maintain any fluency in our play," said the Sunderland manager Peter Reid. "There were too many whistles out there instead of the advantage rule being played. I think supporters like a good tackle and I fear for the physical side of the game - we had four players cautioned and I'm not sure why."

ASTON VILLA: Schmeichel, Delaney, Alpay, Mellberg, Wright, Merson (Ginola 55), Boateng, Hendrie, Kachloul, Dublin (Balaban 68), Vassell. Subs Not Used: Enckelman, Barry, Hadji.

SUNDERLAND: Macho, Haas, McCartney, Craddock, Gray, Arca, McCann, Schwarz, Kilbane, Quinn (Laslandes 82), Phillips. Subs Not Used: Ingham, Bellion, Williams, Thirlwell. Booked: McCann, Phillips, Haas, Schwarz.

Referee: U Rennie (Sheffield).