Sad Villa slammed

WHEN things are not going right, when each apparently insignificant incident is magnified into a crisis, what better way to ward off the demons than by winning a match in the FA Premiership.

It does not necessarily solve everything and the essential problems still lurk beneath the surface but it doesn't half make you feel better.

Thus Kenny Dalglish left Villa Park yesterday in a much happier frame of mind than that in which he had arrived. His side had not performed particularly well at times, they were barely adequate but the three points gained at the expense of Aston Villa will have done much to alleviate his usual air of despondency.

"We were not happy with what has been happening and have had to accept that improvement was needed." said Dalglish. "We've played reasonably well over the past four or five games and it was nice to get some reward for a change."

That, in Dalglish-speak, was tantamount to euphoria.

History had indicated a favourable result for Newcastle. Since the formation of the Premiership, they had not lost in their nine previous meetings with Villa.

Reality, after an opening spell of unbridled tedium, suggested little tangible reward for the spectators who braved a chilly afternoon in Birmingham. There was little to warm the cockles, only a series of misplaced passes and botched efforts on goal.

Villa took 28 minutes to win their first corner, Newcastle took another three minutes.

When Alan Shearer drew a save from Mark Bosnich, with a firm near-post header from Keith Gillespie's cross in the 41st minute it was the first attempt on target from either side.

Though tetchy at times, and the object of persistent jeering from the home supporters. Shearer maintained a presence that could not be ignored.

lan Taylor wasted Villa's best opportunity of the first half, nodding over from close range after Riccardo Scimeca had headed track Mark Draper's corner, and should have also done better shortly after the interval.

Stan Collymore crossed from the right, Dwight Yorke cushioned it but Taylor drove weakly at Shaka Hislop.

Half-time had brought relief from the torpor, a sense of release from the feeble fare on offer.

Happily, the players reappeared in a better mood. Not so much more able, but certainly more willing. Show enthusiasm and most fans will forgive and forget even the crassest error. At last, in the 58th minute, a goal arrived, albeit from the unlikeliest of sources. David Batty seized on Alan Wright's mistake and crossed for Shearer to bludgeon a shot that was blocked by Ugo Ehiogu. It richocheted kindly for Batty and his angled 20-yard drive flew past Bosnich, who was unsighted by Andreas Andersson and managed only to parry the ball into the net.

Batty is more noted for his midfield destruction than goalscoring exploits and, for a moment, he stood in disbelief at what he had done. Perhaps the reactions of his team-mates, who submerged him in a mass of jubilation, rekindled his memory: it was his first goal for the club since August 1996 and only the eighth league goal of his career.

"He's prolific, isn't he” said Dalglish, lapsing into humour for the first time in weeks. His goal rekindled the game, too. Villa found a new urgency, a new desire. with the introduction of Julian Joachim for Wright giving them extra mobility up front.

Too often, though, nicely constructed approach work was spoilt by a weak final pass. Hislop was rarely inconvenienced.

For Villa. who lie only four points away from the drop zone, the future is less clear. A UEFA Cup quarter-final against Atletico Madrid awaits next month, but the achievement in getting there no longer masks the fundamental problems that Little has to unravel. "I'm disappointed, naturally," he said. "Of course I'm concerned. It's unhealthy to do well in the cups and not in the league."