Aston Villa’s quiet progress up the Premiership table continued with an important victory over Bradford.

An early goal from Gareth Southgate settled the Villa nerves and after withstanding the Bradford fightback, Dion Dublin slotted home a second half penalty to make the win a tad more convincing.

Both teams started the game on five points and in the bottom half of the table, but Villa’s second consecutive haul of three points will certainly encourage the Holte End faithful.

After a good start from Bradford where they forced a succession of corners, it was Villa who took an important early lead, with Lee Hendrie finding an unmarked Southgate loitering on the edge of the visitors’ penalty area - the England centre back, not a noted scorer, smashed the ball left footed past Matt Clarke in the fifth minute.

Five minutes later, David Ginola got free on the left wing and engineered a shooting opportunity from 10 yards, with Clarke making a vital save.

Developing into a surprisingly open game, former Villa star Benito Carbone threatened at one end with a long range shot which David James only held on the second attempt, whilst in the Bradford penalty area, Dublin should have done much better than put his header over the crossbar when he was found unmarked ten yards out.

The goal clearly had not upset Bradford’s rhythm, with a strong forward burst from Dean Windass creating an opening for Carbone, but the little Italian’s shot was comfortably held.

Clear chances were being created at both ends, with a Hendrie break carving the Bradford defence apart, ultimately presenting Alan Wright with a near open goal. The left wing back hit the ball with immense power but no accuracy, managing to drive his shot wide of the far post and eventually going for a throw in.

Villa’s defensive frailties have been obvious for most of the season and today was no exception. Carbone’s pass to Ashley Ward resulted in a goal that was disallowed for offside. But more noticeable was the two unmarked players the Italian could have passed to on the left hand side.

Mood

The Italian was obviously in the mood to make his point to former manager John Gregory and a free-kick from 20 yards had James stretching to protect his far post, with the ball drifting just wide.

Just as they had in the first half, Bradford began the second stanza brightly, with fine work by Carbone on the left wing presenting Ashley Ward with a difficult chance at the near post. The much travelled centre forward stabbed his right footed shot into the side netting.

At the other end, Bradford skipper Stuart McCall had to be alert to prevent Dublin from adding a second from 10 yards.

Complacency

Complacency on the Bradford left allowed Paul Merson in for a run on goal, but the former England international does not have the pace he once possessed and elected to play a square ball for George Boateng, who, with two touches, easily found the middle tier of the stand.

Much of Villa’s best work was now exclusively coming from Merson, with a run and shot down the inside left channel raising the voice of a fairly quiet crowd.

Villa brought on Julian Joachim for the ineffective Ginola and the former England under 21 player was quickly into the action, winning a penalty after being adjudged to have been held by David Wetherall.

The decision looked dubious at best, but that was of no concern to Dublin, who smashed the ball home into the top right hand corner to take the pressure off the home side with 16 minute remaining.

From thereon, Merson attacked the Bradford defence at will, on three occasions just failing to score the goal his performance deserved. The visitors, not surprisingly given the nature of the second goal, lost heart and shape, which was a shame. For the better part of the match, they controlled the tempo of the match and in Carbone they had a player who deserved to be on the winning side.

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*The Guardian*
Monday, 18 September, 2000


*Gregory bangs the drum in air of discord*

*Villa profit from their own discontent*

“Hard hats must be worn at all times in this area.”

With Doug Ellis as chairman, the instruction is good advice for Villa managers even when the Trinity Road stand does not resemble a building site.

It is especially so when Ken Bates at Chelsea is threatening to be deadlier than the Ellis.

If a reputation is worth having, it is worth defending.

This was Villa’s first home game since the chairman waved his wad of shares and survived a vote of no confidence.

Player unrest has been discomfiting John Gregory. The manager needed this win and owed it to two of his disaffected men, Gareth Southgate flashing in an early striker’s goal when a corner was half cleared and Julian Joachim, newly on for David Ginola, winning a generous penalty converted by Dion Dublin.

Gregory, bare-headed, was full of praise for Southgate, who wants to play for a club that wins things. “He has a lot of pride in himself” with every sign of “passion when he pulls on a Villa shirt. He had an assured game.”

In another sense, Bates’s axe may have worked in Gregory’s favour. “If Luca [Vialli] was the man behind it [Southgate’s unrest], this could be the end of it,” he added.

Ginola was playing his first home game, Benito Carbone returning after his escape from Villa. But this was no game of hair and hounds. The Frenchman was short of fitness, the Italian’s flair flickered and faded for all his white boots and matching headband. The hounds were called off early.

Bradford need stronger or more acute support up front but they were the better unit, more composed than last season, their neat play matching the intricate trellis of shadows formed on the pitch by the sun behind the girders of the uncovered stand. They made shift with Stuart McCall at the back in an unaccustomed 3-5-2 line-up and were so determined not to hump the ball that they got themselves into more trouble than Villa’s greater individual talents induced.

Disruption and distribution problems have been the talk of the week. Here only Paul Merson and Gareth Barry introduced special powers of wit, accuracy and penetration to overcome them for Villa.

Gregory said of Ginola’s substitution: “He was treading water.”

He was virtually doing that before the long cycle phase down the temporary tunnel and the running that followed. Ginola, plugging his autobiography Le Magnifique before the match, used another metaphor when questioned about his commitment, perhaps forgetting the nickname of Tchaikovsky’s sixth symphony. “We are all musicians,” he said. “If the concert is bad, no money.”

Villa are currently a bunch of soloists and Ginola ran out of puff in the first movement. Gregory, who thinks he needs money to satisfy Southgate’s ambitions, may be pleased to remember that quote.