Game #3509
Monday, 16 October 1978
Attendance: 25,445
Won
League Cup 3rd Round 2nd Replay
3rd Round
Crystal Palace
DDDDW
Highfield Road
Villa finally beat Palace at the third attempt as Andy Gray hits a brace and John Gregory his fourth in four games with Brian Little running the show and Gray's second goal something to behold - taking Tommy Craig's difficult ball on the edge of the area, hoodwinking the defender before unleashing a brilliant 18 yard strike.
Aston Villa
3-0
Crystal Palace
Assist(s) | Ken McNaught | 19' | Brian Little | 31' | Tommy Craig | 71' |
KEY MAN
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
19’ Goal, 1-0, Andy Gray, Assist by Ken McNaught
31’ Goal, 2-0, John Gregory, Assist by Brian Little
HT Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace
71’ Goal, 3-0, Andy Gray, Assist by Tommy Craig
FT Aston Villa 3-0 Crystal Palace
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa beat second division high flyers Palace in the League Cup third round at the third attempt. Meanwhile, Frank Carrodus made his final appearance for Villa aged aged due to injury before moving on to Wrexham in December 1979. Carrodus played for Villa between 1974-75 and 1978-79 making 196 appearances and scoring 6 goals.
Aston Villa
Crystal Palace
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: ❌
FIXTURE HISTORY
Crystal Palace
Previous 5 vs. Palace: | 🟩 | 🟨 | 🟩 | 🟨 | 🟨 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1978-79 |
Matchday | #14 |
Manager Game | #227 |
Monday, 16 October 1978
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders |
FT Result | Won |
FT Score | 3-0 |
Last 5 Games | DDDDW |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Unknown
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Dennis Mortimer and Brian Little replace John Deehan and Willie Young.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.66 |
Oldest Player |
GK Jimmy Rimmer | 30.70 |
Youngest Player |
RB Gary Williams | 17.84 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
Aston Villa
GK Jimmy Rimmer |
RB John Gidman |
RB Gary Williams |
CB Ken McNaught |
M John Gregory |
M Dennis Mortimer |
M Tommy Craig |
M Leighton Phillips |
W Frank Carrodus |
CF Andy Gray |
F Brian Little |
Crystal Palace
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
CB Allan Evans |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 5 |
Alex Cropley |
Gordon Smith |
Gordon Cowans |
Gary Shelton |
John Deehan |
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
"For the first time I shall be able to select a team rather than the team select itself because of our shortage of fit players."
Ron Saunders as three of a team’s worth of injured players are due to return against Palace with Dennis Mortimer fit again after a knee injury, Brian Little after his operation and Allan Evans following suspension.
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Tuesday, 17 October 1978