2-0

THE evidence has taken a while to emerge, but the claim that Villa are spoiled for choice is finally starting to ring true.

All the talk of competition for places carried a hollow note during four opening matches in which manager Ron Atkinson seemed to be some way from establishing his strongest team.

But at the fifth time of asking, and with a testing venture into Europe ahead of them, Villa's selected side at last reaped the benefits of knowing their places are not secure.

Maybe the cutting edge could have been a little sharper, for victory over the honest journeymen of Ipswich Town should really have been far more emphatic.

Manager Atkinson, though, was provided with plenty of food for thought as he contemplates his line-up for Thursday's UEFA Cup clash in Milan.

The business of deciding which three foreigners to play at the San Siro stadium was brought sharply into focus by an English goalkeeper who is a veteran of European campaigns and a youngster yet to start a UEFA Cup-tie.

At 36, Nigel Spink was as agile as ever in his first Premiership game of the season, suggesting he might well get the nod in Italy, even if Mark Bosnich recovers from a knee injury.

That would narrow the options to three from four, and on the assumption that Irish internationals Steve Staunton and Paul McGrath are automatic inclusions, it seems to be a straight choice between Dean Saunders or Dwight Yorke.

The chances are that Atkinson will go for Saunders, already on target three times this season and something of a specialist in European games.

But Yorke can hardly have staked a stronger claim than he did with an irrepressible midfield display which tormented Ipswich from first whistle to last.

The Calypso Kid, constantly creating space for himself and invariably using it to good effect, provided a conveyer belt of precision through balls worthy of a higher output from the men in front of him.

Saunders was the biggest culprit in that respect, wasteful in the early stages when Yorke was really buzzing and amazingly hitting the post from six yards when the youngster from Tobago headed Staunton's 84th minute cross invitingly into his path.

Such is Saunders' enduring menace, though, that within a minute of that miss, he had moved on to substitute Dalian Atkinson's pass, skipped past goalkeeper Craig Forrest, and made sure of three points.

And while the Welsh wizard had a generally frustrating afternoon, his part in the opening goal should not be forgotten, either. Yorke, almost inevitably, instigated the move, but it was Saunders' bold surge past Mick Stockwell and subsequent pass which set up Staunton's 15th minute strike.

No doubt it will be a different story against the power and verve of Inter, but Villa will surely head for Italy in optimistic mood.