Classy Villa take points

Ipswich 1 Aston Villa 2

RON Atkinson’s Aston Villa players suffered no reaction from their midweek excursion into Europe as they became the first side to win at Ipswich this season.

Villa were the classier team and were superior man for man.

lan Marshall, Ipswich's £750,000 signing from Oldham, hardly deserved to finish on the losing side.

He returned after an ankle injury suffered on August 21 and maintained his goal-a-match record.

He scored in the ninth minute from the rebound after Nigel Spink had blocked his first attempt and, four minutes before the interval. Marshall headed an inswinging corner from Neil Thompson against the Villa bar.

They equalised in the 19th minute when Steve Staunton. who caused the Ipswich defence problems all day, put in a long, diagonal cross from the left.

Dean Saunders cut in from the right to beat Craig Forrest with a clinical finish just inside the far post.

Villa needed a bit of luck to absorb Ipswich pressure just before the interval but in the second-half there was only one side in it.

In the 46th minute Andy Townsend fired over an open goal after a drive by Dalian Atkinson had been blocked by Forrest, but the Republic international made amends in the 55th minute, with a scorching left foot drive from 25 yards that flew into the top corner for the winner.

Villa brought on Tony Daley in place of Guy Whittingham after 61 minutes and were content to play a possession game that frustrated Ipswich for the rest of the match.