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DERBY’S Italian connection helped bring Colin Todd’s men a crucial three points with a 3-1 FA Barclaycard Premiership victory over Aston Villa.

Fabrizio Ravanelli and Benito Carbone - with his first for the Rams - struck either side of Juan Pablo Angel’s seventh of the season with substitute Malcolm Christie grabbing a late third.

Villa had been looking for a victory to move within three points of leaders Newcastle - but despite dominating possession for large parts of the game they seemed unable to get a grip on their struggling hosts.

County meanwhile, who move above Leicester - at least for a couple of hours - with this result, recovered from a shaky start to take their chances with aplomb for a result which could inject new life into a season which had looked to be dead set on finishing with relegation.

On a freezing afternoon at Villa Park, Gareth Barry enjoyed Villa’s first chance with a deflected 20-yard drive, and it was Giorgi Kinkladze, handed his first start for three months, who almost got on the end of a dangerous Carbone cross.

Then the little Italian, revelling in his roving role up front, did find Ravanelli 12 yards out but from a tight angle he headed well wide.

Villa came close on 16 minutes when Alan Wright’s cross-cum-shot from the left hit team-mate George Boateng and a ball which could have gone anywhere eventually squirted out for a goal kick.

Boateng flashed a shot wide for Villa while Derby’s attacking problems were summed up in the 34th minute when Kinkladze found Ravanelli in the box but the Italian’s backheel found nobody.

And Carbone fluffed a shooting chance five minutes before the break after being set up by Kinkladze’s run from midfield.

The game finally burst into life just before half-time, with Derby breaking the deadlock when Kinkladze’s corner from the left was chested down by Chris Riggott and Ravanelli hooked the ball behind him and past a flapping Schmeichel from point-blank range.

The hosts knew they had to try and preserve their lead at least into the interval, but they were incapable of even that as within seconds J-Lloyd Samuel found Angel in the box and the Colombian beat Youl Mawene before firing left-footed past Mart Poom, who was making his return for the Rams.

Samuel’s cross for Angel’s goal was his last act of the match as he was replaced at half-time by the returning Kachloul. Lee Hendrie also came on for Gareth Barry but Rams boss Todd kept faith in his starting 11 for the second half.

Carbone was played into the box by Ravanelli but his shot from a tight angle was turned out for a corner by Mellberg, which Kinkladze played short and wasted.

Hendrie almost made an immediate impact when he was sent clear by Angel but drove his 12-yard shot straight at the advancing Poom, who deflected it out for a corner.

Villa were beginning to press with the game materialising into a far more open affair, but after Angel’s attempted shot was charged down, Derby broke and Kinkladze fed Ravanelli on the edge of the Villa box.

Mawene, at fault for Villa’s goal, almost had another nightmare when he bundled Angel’s header up and over his own crossbar after Kachloul’s lob from the left wing.

Villa’s pressure almost told on 65 minutes when Boateng set up Kachloul and the Moroccan’s right-foot shot from 20 yards rebounded off the foot of Poom’s right-hand post and flashed across goal to safety.

But then in the 67th minute Derby grabbed their second goal totally against the run of play.

Ravanelli’s cross from the right had Schmeichel in two minds and the keeper only succeeded in palming the ball to the feet of Carbone, who screwed it home from six yards to give put the Rams back in the lead.

Todd reacted to the goal by taking off Carbone and replacing him with striker Malcolm Christie, and the 22-year-old very nearly extended the home side’s lead when clear on goal but his lob was just tipped over by Schmeichel.

But with Villa mounting one last push, County grabbed a crucial third to settle the match three minutes from time.

Adam Bolder supplied Deon Burton, who delivered an inch-perfect ball for Christie to stroke the ball past Schmeichel.