LAMPTEY INSPIRES VILLA GOAL FEAST

Nii Lamptey stepped on to centre stage at Villa Park last night with a show-stopping performance which launched Villa's defence of the Coca-Cola League Cup.

The 19-year-old Ghanaian's eye-catching debut made him an instant hit with Villa supporters. And although he later admitted to first night nerves, there was little evidence of it throughout his spellbinding display.

When he ran 70-yards for a scintillating goal, Villa's fourth after 73 minutes, you just knew the Holte End faithful had found themselves another hero.

And while bottom-of-league Wigan were hardly the side to offer a searching examination of the youngster once described as the new Pele, it didn't seem to matter.

Long before he put his name on the scoresheet, the former Anderlecht player had made enough breathtaking runs to suggest his £1.3 million fee was a wise investment.

It was certainly all too much for poor Wigan, languishing at the foot of the Third Division and now facing inevitable elimination from the Coca-Cola Cup.

Graham Barrows beleaguered side arrived in the Midlands anticipating a possible mauling and their worst fears were confirmed as Villa emphasised the class gap in ruthless fashion.

There was certainly never any question of the sort of shocks suffered by the likes of Leeds, Leicester, Ipswich, Crystal Palace and West Ham over the past couple nights.

Ron Atkinson had urged his players to approach the game with deadly seriousness and, from the moment Dwight Yorke lit the fuse, it was a simply explosive performance.

In truth, Big Ron's boys should really have doubled their winning margin in one of the most one-sided matches seen at Villa Park for years.

Apart from the odd moment of relief, notably when Mark Bosnich tipped over Paul Rennie's 31st minute drive, it was one-way traffic towards the visitors' goal from start to finish. Lamptey may have been the crowd-pleader but Yorke has rarely played better, constantly putting Wigan under pressure with his powerful runs and intelligent use of the ball.

It was a slice of Caribbean magic which opened the with Barrow's floodgates after only four minutes, Yorke leaving three defenders totally bemused as he teed himself up for an angled left-foot drive which went in off the far post.

Dalian Atkinson's 25 yard-drive also struck the woodwork on its way in to give Villa a 2-0 interval lead.

The second period was one long succession of chances.

The only surprise was that 70 minutes had elapsed before workaholic Dean Saunders drilled in the third from 25 yards and three minutes later we were treated to a truly breathtaking goal.

Collecting Earl Barrett's headed clearance deep in his own half, Lamptey sprinted into Wigan's penalty area where he was hauled down by Rennie. Most players would have been happy to settle for a penalty but, as the ball ran loose, Lamptey stabbed it past goalkeeper Simon Farnworth for a goal which deserves a place in Villa's hall of fame.

The irrepressible Yorke set up Atkinson for a simple tap-in five minutes from time, and Villa carved out a host of other openings. How they must wish they could have saved a few for the more daunting prospect of Saturday's visit to Blackburn