Aston Villa eased their relegation worries with a victory over Newcastle which takes them five points clear of the Premier League's bottom three.
Following chances for Joey Barton and Nile Ranger, Villa scored against the run of play when James Collins headed in Ashley Young's free-kick.
But that encouraged the hosts, who went close to doubling their lead through Gabriel Agbonlahor and Darren Bent.
Newcastle offered little but Peter Lovenkrands' late header was saved.
After a tame second half for the visitors, Lovenkrands also went close to levelling in stoppage time but his shot was stopped by Villa keeper Brad Friedel.
Although the encounter was bathed in sunshine, the match failed to reach boiling point but that will be of little concern to Gerard Houllier's team, who took a huge step forward before they face crucial matches against their relegation rivals.
 |
| Darrent Bent |
 |
| James Collins |
 |
| Gerard Houllier |
No comments:
Post a Comment