*Robbie Keane’s double for Aston Villa sinks Wolverhampton Wanderers*

Alex McLeish, the latest in a long line of managers to have signed Robbie Keane, was ready to celebrate his 53rd birthday in style after the peripatetic Irishman scored twice to turn a 2-1 deficit into an Aston Villa victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who sink into the bottom three after eight Premier League matches without a win.

Keane, playing against the club with whom he started his wandering career, struck from 20 and 25 yards to get his loan from LA Galaxy off to a dramatic start. At 31, it would appear that his spell in the comparative backwater that is Major League Soccer has in no way diminished the skills that have brought him to Villa via Internazionale, Liverpool and Tottenham, among others.

Wolves ended up with 10 men, Karl Henry having been sent off after 75 minutes for a sly backheel into Marc Albrighton’s body while the Villa winger was prostrate and helpless. More significant, however, was the loss after 58 minutes of Emmanuel Frimpong, who was influential in midfield before his withdrawal on a stretcher with a nasty head injury.

That said, the day belonged to Keane, who was close to a hat-trick at the death and could hardly have made more of an impression on his first start. His success here should have been no surprise, coming from a player who scored on debuts for the Galaxy, West Ham, Coventry andWolves.

Before it became the Robbie roadshow, it was all about Michael Kightly, the star of the first half, who scored his first goal at this level, and Darren Bent, who won and tucked away a penalty for his 99th goal in the Premier League.

Villa left out Stephen Warnock, a left-back good enough to have played for England, and paid a heavy price in the first half, when Kightly gave Ciaran Clark the run around. The opening goal came in the 11th minute, when Christophe Berra, in attempting a clearance, scythed down Darren Bent. The England striker got up and made short work of the consequent penalty for his eighth goal of the season.

Wolves responded well, raising their game and dominating the rest of the first half. The key to their takeover was Kightly, who cut in from the right, past Clark, to equalise with a low, left-footed curler into the far corner.

Three more clearcut chances came and went before Wolves took the lead they deserved, when Kightly’s corner was headed on by Roger Johnson to David Edwards, who nodded the ball firmly past Shay Given at close range.

Kightly’s incisive pace was too much for Clark to handle, especially with the left-back receiving little help from Gabriel Agbonlahor, who was suffering from a stomach bug. For the second half, McLeish withdrew Agbonlahor and sent on Warnock, who all but marked Clark’s tormentor out of the game. The Villa manager said: “Their first-half onslaught could have had us dead and buried at half-time, but we had a bit of luck and Stevie was excellent when he came on.”

Keane’s equaliser, after 51 minutes, was a goal out of nothing, Clark supplying him on the edge of the D, from where the Irishman scored with a half-volley on the turn, past Wayne Hennessey’s flailing right hand.
Mick McCarthy had no complaints about Henry’s red card. “Carl backheeled him when he was on the ground. I’m not excusing him at all.”

Keane’s winner, in the 84th minute, was what the players call a “worldy”, driven past Hennessey at ballistic velocity. McLeish said: “Not many people shoot from outside the box, but Robbie had done that throughout his career. His goals were two sublime strikes.

We’ve not explored the possibility of signing him permanently. It’s up to Robbie. If he feels he wants to come back to the Premier League I’m sure there will be a few clubs prepared to welcome him back with open arms. I’m sure we would.”