Game #3390
Aston Villa
Saturday, 4 September 1976
Won
1st= (-)
WLWWW
Division One
Attendance: 39,916
Ipswich Town
Villa Park
Villa dispatch much fancied Ipswich in a devastating second half spell that sees a 19 minute hat-trick from 20 year old Andy Gray - Villa's first top flight league hat-trick since Tony Hateley in the 5-5 draw with Tottenham in March 1966.
Aston Villa
5-2
Ipswich Town
Assist(s) | Brian Little | 57' | Gordon Smith | 77' |
KEY MAN
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
Saturday, 4 September 1976
6’ Goal, 1-0, Brian Little
17’ Goal, 1-1, (Ipswich Town), John Wark
HT Aston Villa 2-0 Ipswich Town
57’ Goal, 2-1, Andy Gray, Assist by Brian Little
62’ Goal, 3-1, Andy Gray
76’ Goal, 3-2, (Ipswich Town), Keith Bertschin
77’ Goal, 4-2, Andy Gray, Assist by Gordon Smith
89’ Goal, 5-2, Ray Graydon
FT Aston Villa 5-2 Ipswich Town
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa make it three wins and one defeat in four division one games this season as they remain top of the early table with three of the top four scorers in the League being Villa players. Meanwhile, Andy Gray became the first Villa player to score a hat-trick in the First Division since Tony Hateley when he scored four goals in the 5-5 draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane in March 1966.
Aston Villa
Ipswich Town
FIXTURE HISTORY
Ipswich Town
Previous 5 vs. Ipswich: | 🟥 | 🟨 | 🟥 | 🟥 | 🟨 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1976-77 |
Matchday | #5 |
League Match | #4 |
Manager Game | #108 |
Saturday, 4 September 1976
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders |
Referee | Ken Ridden, Shrewsbury |
FT Result | Won |
FT Score | 5-2 |
Last 5 Games | WLWWW |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Ken Ridden | 🏴 | 1974-1977
Previous 5:
Last Match:
Cards: None
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Ron Saunders names an unchanged line up.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.19 |
Oldest Player |
CB Chris Nicholl | 29.92 |
Youngest Player |
CF Andy Gray | 20.78 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
Aston Villa
GK John Burridge |
RB John Gidman |
CB Chris Nicholl |
FB John Robson |
FB Gordon Smith |
M Leighton Phillips |
M Dennis Mortimer |
W Frank Carrodus |
W Ray Graydon |
CF Andy Gray |
F Brian Little |
Ipswich Town
Cooper, Burley, Hunter, Mills, Sharkey (Turner), Beattie, Talbot, Wark (g), Bertschin (g), Lambert, Woods. Manager: Bobby Robson.
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
W Steve Hunt |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
None
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
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
“Brian [Little] has scored four goals this season which only he could have scored.
“It’s a pleasure to play alongside hime.
“I missed the easiest chance of a hat-trick when I put the ball over the bar just before I finally got my third.”
Andy Gray.
“He [Andy Gray] did nothing in the first half. But afterwards he ran riot and is going to be some player in two years’ time.
Ron Saunders.
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Monday, 6 September 1976