VILLA EARN WIN AGAINST HAPLESS POMPEY

By Ryan Ghee
March 12 2006

A first half Milan Baros header was enough to earn Villa a precious win against relegation threatened Portsmouth who have now lost nine away games on the bounce.

The goal came on 36 minutes as James Milner whipped in a dangerous free-kick and from only a few yards out, Milan Baros headed home unmarked to notch his tenth goal of the campaign.

With the Villans currently struggling with a number of injuries in defence, David O'Leary made the surprise decision to bring Wilfred Bouma back into the starting line-up after three months out with a knee problem.

It was the home side who held the upper hand throughout the match with Kevin Phillips, starting in place of Juan Pablo Angel, causing endless problems for the Pompey back-line.

It was Phillips who had the first clear chance of the game after being sent through by Davis only to drill his effort at the legs of Dean Kiely.

Following the early scare, Pompey's Gary O'Neil twice came close to breaking the deadlock but both times was denied by the make-shift Villa back four.

Mid-way through the first half, Villa's defensive woes worsened as Jlloyd Samuel limped off with an injury, forcing O'Leary to put midfielder Ulises de la Cruz on in his place.

With the back-line taking time to adjust, Pompey almost caught Villa naping as LuaLua forced his way through before setting up O'Neil who forced a smart save from Sorensen.

Just two minutes later, it was Villa's turn to attack and this time they made no mistake. From Milner's delivery, Baros turned up in the six-yard box to head home possibly his easiest goal of the season.

The second half proved to be a rather sloppy affair as both sides failed to make the most of any spells of possession and clear-cut chances proved hard to come by.

LuaLua was still a threat to Villa however; the defence having to work tirelessly to keep the Congo international at bay.

With the match drawing to a close, Kevin Phillips had a great opportunity to wrap the game up but the striker failed to beat Dean Kiely meaning the hosts had to endure a late Portsmouth onslaught before celebrating another vital three points.