Colly in the dock

STAN Collymore was last night accused of sparking the trouble that led to his sensational sending-off. The England hit-man was red-carded along with Bolton's Andy Todd after a punch-up. But Bolton star Gudni Bergsson alleged Stan began it by throwing an elbow.

He said: "An elbow was thrown to begin with. Andy got a bit angry after that and went for Stan. I saw it all." And he added: "Andy is very upset. Anyone would be at being sent off. He had a little battle with Collymore and they both lost a bit of control.

"I went in and tried to separate them, and I got a blow myself."

But Villa boss Brian Little refused to lay blame on either side. He said: "I went straight to referee Graham Poll and asked what he saw. He said he saw punches thrown from both sides and he had no alternative.

"It was a big scuffle and let's hope he's made the right decision. I've seen nothing to suggest he hasn't. Two people reacted with each other, and I can't give you an answer as to why."

Little said Collymore had given no reason as he came off but added that he would still be joining the England party as planned, saying "I don't expect to see him again until a week on Monday."

Collymore reacted after Todd pulled his shirt and was the first to be dismissed. He was soon followed off by Todd, son of Bolton boss Colin.

It had been a frustrating day for Collymore, who missed a golden chance from six yards. He was barracked mercilessly until his temper snapped. The dismissal took the shine off another important Savo Milosevic winner. His 12th minute strike took Villa to their fourth Premiership win out of five.