*Dublin finishes off a Ginola start*

The wisdom of John Gregory’s decision to sign Peter Schmeichel was all too obvious here last night as Aston Villa retained an interest in the competition that has proved their most fertile source of silverware for almost half a century.

The Second Division side Reading had beaten West Ham in a penalty shoot-out in the Worthington Cup’s second round and only the brilliance of Villa’s 38-year-old goalkeeper denied them the chance of another spot-kick duel.

Schmeichel was one of nine nationalities featured in the Villa line-up and a rare start for David Ginola coincided with an even rarer outing for the Frenchman as a striker alongside Juan Pablo Angel.

It was from his more favoured outside-left berth, however, that he posed an early threat. After bamboozling Adi Whitbread with his version of the soft shoe shuffle, Ginola crossed for Angel to head wide.

But Reading rarely looked in trouble early on, their ability to switch from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1 in an instant a source of frustration for the home side. Villa had no option but to switch formation on 28 minutes when Mark Delaney was carried off after a collision with Tony Rougier.

The reshuffle resulted in Dion Dublin being introduced with Ginola moving to the left, and almost immediately the Frenchman displayed his defensive shortcomings. His response to being beaten to the ball by Nicky Forster amounted to no more than a shrug as his opponent skipped past Alan Wright before crossing.

No Reading player was on hand to take advantage, though, and when Forster again left Wright in his slipstream, he opted to go it alone.

But just as Ginola can be a liability in defence, his contribution in attack can be decisive. Right on half-time he earned a corner after a mazy run and took the kick himself for Hassan Kachloul to knock the ball back across goal where Dublin stooped to head home from close range.

Villa should have killed the tie seconds after the interval after good work by Lee Hendrie and Angel. But the Colombian’s deft chip into the six-yard box was overstepped by Kachloul.

Reading refused to buckle and pitched camp in the Villa half, but another penetrative run by Forster was ended when Schmeichel dived at his feet. Moments later the Dane rolled back the years when he made a one-handed save to chip Rougier’s close-range header over the crossbar.