Wimbledon deliver cup holders a sucker punch

A DEFLECTED shot from Marcus Uayle shortly before half-time at Selhurst Park last night took Wimbledon towards their second League Cup quarter-final and left the holders, Aston Villa, ruing a host of missed chances, as well as the loss of Gareth Southgate, who was carried off with a knee injury towards the end.

Aston Villa came to Selhurst with an impressive League Cup record. They were the present holders, they had won the trophy twice in the last three seasons, and only Liverpool had also won the tournament five times.

Last night, however, the more relevant record was the 15-match unbeaten run Wimbledon had achieved after losing their first three fixtures this season. Villa, moreover, had gone out of the FA Cup to Wimbledon in replays at the same ground in 1991 and 1993.

Aston Villa began as if they expected to gain something from the evening. Milosevic is still around but at the moment Joachim has joined Yorke to give the attack added pace and mobility.

A low shot from Yorke, sent through by Southgate in the opening minute, was turned around a post by Sullivan and Villa took heart from the moment, despite the mysterious award of a goal-kick that followed.

It took Wimbledon some 10 minutes to repay in kind. Their early movements became enveloped in Villa's busy five-man mid-field. Then, hesitancy in the Villa defence found Ardley bursting through to gain possession and lay the ball off to Earle, unmarked on his right. A goal beckoned, but Earle's shot flew over the bar.

While Villa's passing was always likely to be shorter and more studied than Wimbledon's direct, economical movements, they still used the full width of the pitch to extend the opposition at the back. The ease with which Nelson was turning Wimbledon's defence on the right also gave Villa a distinct edge.

However, the old Villa problem, namely the lack of an incisive alternative if Yorke is not finding the target, meant that Sullivan was mainly occupied with catching centres during the first half hour And while Wimbledon were having the worst of the play territorially, there remained the possibility that one of the quick, hard, accurate crosses which are their stock-in-trade would do more damage at the other end. In the event the damage was, to an extent, self-inflicted. In the space of a minute Staunton passed back straight to Ekoku, who was only thwarted by Oakes diving at his feet, and then gave the ball away to Gayle, who only just failed to make space for a shot.

Two minutes before half-time, Kimble's long pass found Gayle holding off Staunton as the pair raced towards the left-hand byline. Staunton thought he had blocked off the Wimbledon striker's angles, but after Gayle had driven the ball hard towards the near post it ricocheted into the net off Oakes's legs.

With Taylor and Draper wafting earlier shots into the crowd from close range, Villa's hold on the League Cup was being loosened by a mixture of missed opportunities and one sucker punch. When Yorke, turning and shooting early in the second half, did find the target, Sullivan was able to keep the ball out, leaving Jones to clear it.

Aston Villa's neat passing continued to drive deep wedges into Wimbledon's cover, but only Oakes's agility in turning a swerving, dipping free kick from Ardley over the bar just before the hour kept the holders in the contest.