*Eric Lichaj’s first goal for Aston Villa breaks Hereford’s resistance*

It should have been a stroll for Aston Villa in a one-sided Carling Cup second-round tie at Villa Park on Tuesday night but it needed late goals from Eric Lihaj, the American defender, and Nathan Delfouneso, a substitute, to extinguish the defensive fire of battling Hereford United.

Lichaj broke the deadlock with 10 minutes remaining, firing home his first goal for the club after a goalmouth scramble, and Delfouneso eased the nagging fears of Alex McLeish, the Villa manager, from close range in the final minutes.

Villa had dominated from start to finish but could not get past David Cornell, the heroic Hereford goalkeeper playing on an emergency one-month loan from Swansea City. Still, they did enough to stretch McLeish’s unbeaten start to his tenure to three matches.

“You always wonder if your players are thinking seriously about taking the right approach against teams from lower divisions,” McLeish, the former Birmingham City manager, said. “But we did, we started well and I didn’t think Hereford troubled us too much.”

Villa did draw groans from some sections of the fans in the second half as they continued to struggle to beat Cornell. “I suppose that was understandable,” McLeish said. “They would have been disappointed because we weren’t banging in the goals. If you’re not producing, you’ll get that from fans at any club but I think they were very patient really.”

Hereford, lying in 23rd place in League Two, should not have had a prayer and they would not have had but for the acrobatics of their keeper. He flung himself across every area of his goalmouth to keep out first-half efforts from Ciaran Clark, Stephen Ireland and Darren Bent.

“He was fantastic for us,” Jamie Pitman, the Hereford manager, said. “And it was great for him to perform on a stage that he wants to perform on again in the future. We’ve been thumped a few times this season but I’ve got an inner belief in the group and it was just the lift that we needed.”

Cornell maintained his performance in the second half, saving from the influential Marc Albrighton and Lichaj. Charles N’Zogbia dragged a shot wide and Ireland also wasted a good chance after exchanging passes with Albrighton. The ignominy of extra time loomed for Villa but, to the relief of McLeish and the few groaners in the crowd, Lichaj and Delfouneso, a replacement for N’Zogbia, saved the day.