Everton v Aston Villa 04/09/96 7.45Everton (0) 0 Aston Villa (0) 1 FT Ehiogu 62 England defender Ugo Ehiogu steered Aston Villa to their third Premiership win in four outings tonight. The 23-year-old struck the winner in the 62nd minute after starting and finishing a glorious move. He released Fernando Nelson down the right and his cross beat goalkeeper Neville Southall. Dwight Yorke was lurking at the back post and headed into the path of Ehiogu, who swept the ball home. 
It was a rare moment for Ehiogu, who scored only one Premiership goal all last season. UEFA Cup contenders Villa have looked impressive since their opening defeat by Sheffield Wednesday, their scoring hero tonight forming a solid partnership at the back with Gareth Southgate. It was Everton's first defeat this season and came after they had twice been out of luck in the opening part of the match. Alan Wright managed to head the ball off the line after Gary Speed delivered a powerful header from a corner by Andy Hinchcliffe. And on the stroke of half-time, Tony Grant sent Andrei Kanchelskis racing clear but goalkeeper Michael Oakes got the ball away with his foot. Scotland striker Duncan Ferguson headed the rebound beyond the keeper but the ball rattled against the post, much to Villa's relief. Brian Little's side contained Everton in the second half and the way in which they broke away looked likely to provide a goal or two. 
With a bumper crowd again urging them on, Everton were always competitive and there was one ugly incident in the first half when Yorke and Craig Short came to blows after the Everton centre-half had tangled with Savo Milosevic. Yorke was a handful all night and was unlucky to see a thumping shot hit the underside of the bar and come out after Sasa Curcic had carved out the opening. Milosevic was also busy and swept the ball into the side netting after a poor clearance by Southall had been blocked by Yorke. Everton, after early pressure, found it difficult in the second half to carve out any real openings and Ehiogu gave Villa a deserved victory. 
Everton: (4-4-2) Southall, Barrett, Short, Unsworth, Hinchcliffe, Kanchelskis, Grant, Parkinson, Speed, Stuart (Rideout, 67), Ferguson. Subs not used: Limpar, Hottiger, Ebbrell, Gerrard. Booked: Grant. Aston Villa: (3-5-2) Oakes, Nelson (Scimeca, 90), Wright, Ehiogu, Southgate, Staunton, Curcic (Taylor, 76), Draper, Townsend, Yorke, Milosevic (Johnson, 86). Subs not used: Bosnich, McGrath. Booked: Staunton, Curcic. Attendance: 39,115. Referee: M J Bodenham (Looe, Cornwall). |
