Game #3288
Saturday, 7 September 1974
Attendance: 16,802
Won
Division Two
3rd= (+1)
Leyton Orient
DDWLW
Villa Park
Villa recover from their first defeat of the season to steamroller Orient at Villa Park but although they miss out on another goal-fest they climb to 3rd in the second division table under new boss Ron Saunders.
Aston Villa
3-1
Leyton Orient
Assists(s) | Brian Little | 14' |
KEY MAN
RELATED MATCHES
MATCH TIMELINE
14’ Goal, 1-0, Sammy Morgan, Assist by Brian Little
32’ Goal, 2-0, Ray Graydon
HT Aston Villa 2-0 Leyton Orient
70’ Goal, 3-0, Ray Graydon (pen)
74’ Goal, 3-1, (Leyton Orient). Derek Downing
FT Aston Villa 3-1 Leyton Orient
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa return to winning ways to make it two wins, three draws and a defeat in his first six League games as Villa boss.
Aston Villa
Leyton Orient
FIXTURE HISTORY
Previous 5 vs. Orient: | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟥 | 🟨 | 🟨 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1974-75 |
Matchday | #6 |
League Match | #6 |
Manager Game | #6 |
Saturday, 7 September 1974
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders |
Referee | Anthony Morrissey, Cheshire |
FT Result | Won |
FT Score | 3-1 |
Last 5 Games | DDWLW |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Tony Morrissey | 🏴 | Wirral, 1968-1979
Previous 5:
Last Match:
Cards: None
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
John Gidman returns in place of Jimmy Brown as Pat McMahon makes his first appearance of the season as Frank Carrodus drops out.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.65 |
Oldest Player |
LB Charlie Aitken | 32.38 |
Youngest Player |
RB John Gidman | 20.67 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
Aston Villa
GK Graham Moseley |
RB John Gidman |
LB Charlie Aitken |
CB Ian Ross |
CB Chris Nicholl |
FB John Robson |
M Chico Hamilton |
M Pat McMahon |
W Ray Graydon |
F Brian Little |
F Sammy Morgan |
Leyton Orient
Jackson, Fisher, Roffey, Hoadley, Harris, Walley, Fairbrother, Brisley, Bullock, Queen (Bennett), Downing (g).
Manager: George Petchey.
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
F Keith Leonard |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 3 |
GK Jim Cumbes |
GK Jake Findlay |
W Frank Carrodus |
UNAVAILABLE
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Monday, 9 September 1974
Everton would have been a powerful enough attraction on Wednesday anyway whatever kind of form Villa had been displaying. But now that Ron Saunders’s men have struck nine goals in their last two home matches, the chances of a League Cup victory becomes that much more real and gives the tie an added lustre on Saturday.
Villa may have finished with only three goals, yet at times they appeared ready to surpass the 6-0 victory against Hull ten days before.
The fact of a 1-0 defeat at Bolton sandwiched between the two victories was forgotten by the crowd - how much longer will gate figures hover in the 16,000 to 18,000 region - delighted at the style with which Orient were despatched.
Orient came close to promotion last season but Villa were by far the superior side on Saturday.
“Promotion” seems to be a banned word at Villa Park these days, the disappointment of last season no doubt being to blame.
But Villa showed here, despite the absence of new signing Frank Carrodus, that at the very least a lot of good teams will find the Villa Park trip a pointless one.
Chris Nicholl and lan Ross were always in charge at the back, John Robson had his most outstanding game so far in midfield, and Brian Little’s confidence grew perceptibly as the game went on, despite the rough treatment he received at the hands, elbows and legs of Phil Hoadley.
Little had a major part to play in the first goal, after 14 minutes.
Hoadley was caught in possession, Ray Graydon whipped in a short centre, Little slid the ball square, and with John Jackson now hopelessly out of position Sammy Morgan scored his fourth goal of the season.
Graydon scored another after 32 minutes. beating Jackson from 25 yards, and added No. 3 from the penalty spot after 70 minutes, having been brought down by Bill Roffey.
Villa’s only lapse was the moment of defensive paralysis four minutes later which saw Derrick Downing’s consolation goal.