Sunderland v Aston Villa 26/10/96 3.00Sunderland (1) 1 Aston Villa (0) 0 FT Stewart 25 Mark Bosnich was the hero and the villain of Aston Villa's disappointing defeat at Roker Park. The Australian keeper, charged with misconduct by the FA for his Nazi salute to the crowd at White Hart Lane a fortnight ago, was in brilliant form in keeping a rampant Sunderland at bay. He made a series of brilliant saves before forced to hobble off in the 57th minute after a clash with Paul Stewart. But he was guilty of conceding a 25th-minute penalty after a reckless challenge on Stewart following a back pass by Mark Draper. Bosnich brilliantly saved the spot kick from David Kelly but Stewart was on hand to force home his first goal of the season. It was a welcome but deserved win for the home side, who were on top for most of the match. Villa were a big disappointment as an attacking force, causing few problems for Lionel Perez on his home debut. However, the Frenchman, deputising for the injured Tony Coton, made a brilliant save after 74 minutes to deny Dwight Yorke an undeserved equaliser. Most of the goalmouth action was at the other end with Kevin Ball and Michael Bridges prevented from increasing the lead by the busy Bosnich. Villa manager Brian Little made a double switch on the hour, bringing on Julian Joachim and Lee Hendrie for Sasa Curcic and Mark Draper, and though they stepped up a gear, they never looked like salvaging a point. 
Sunderland: Perez, Hall, Kubicki, Ord, Melville, Kelly, Ball, Bracewell, Gray, Stewart, Bridges (Russell, 85). Subs not used: Naisbett, Rae, Smith, Howey. Booked: Gray. Aston Villa: Bosnich (Oakes, 57), Taylor, Wright, Ehiogu, Southgate, Tiler, Curcic (Joachim, 61), Draper (Hendrie, 61), Townsend, Yorke, Johnson. Subs not used: Scimeca, Farrelly. Booked: Bosnich. Attendance: 21,059. Referee: P E Alcock (Redhill). |
