Town will see themselves as very unfortunate to have come out of this game without even a point. Despite rarely playing at their best the Blues were the better side for most of the game. Town went ahead through Alun Armstrong halfway through the first half, but two Julian Joachim goals in the second half gave Villa the three points.

George Burley picked a surprise line-up which saw Chris Makin make his debut at left-back with Fabian Wilnis at right-back, Hermann Hreidarsson replacing Titus Bramble in the centre and Jamie Clapham at left midfield. Last week’s hero Martijn Reuser started at right midfield and James Scowcroft and Alun Armstrong started up front. Mark Burchill and Jim Magilton began on the bench.

Joachim gave Town an early warning when he had a deflected shot tipped wide by Richard Wright after just four minutes. Joachim had broken quickly down the Villa left and cut in before shooting. From the resulting corner Chris Makin made his first serious contribution in a Blues’ shirt. The corner was headed goalwards and Makin cleared off the line.

But Town were having possession and Jermaine Wright made an excellent run down the left and crossed deep for Reuser. A defender did well to clear with the confident looking Reuser just behind him. Wright also hit a shot well over when given space on the edge of the area.

Villa came close through a shot from Lee Hendrie which was deflected wide while David Ginola was making little impression on Fabian Wilnis. Ginola was showing his frustration with a couple of wild challenges on James Scowcroft and Martijn Reuser. Surprisingly neither of these were seen as yellow card offences by referee Rob Styles. An outlandish dive also failed to win the Frenchman a booking.

Armstrong was looking busy up front and he came close to scoring when a Wilnis cross was flicked on by Scowcroft. It was no surprise when it was Armstrong who put Town ahead. The striker brought the ball into the area after a Scowcroft flick and seemed to have put it too far in front of him. However he managed to get a shot in on goal but it was too close to David James. Fortunately for Town James spilled the shot and Armstrong rebounded the ball into the net.

The rest of the half saw Town the better side but no real chances were created. A number of crosses came in from Reuser, but no-one got on the end of them.

Halftime saw no changes and Town immediately got into probably the best form they would show in the match. The ball seemed to get to Reuser at almost every opportunity and he was giving the defence a great deal of trouble. When the crosses came in though, the chances weren’t really falling for the Blues. However, Alun Armstrong had a good opportunity to put Town further ahead when he ran on to a ball over the top. The striker turned inside and hit a shot which once again James spilled. Matt Holland following up wasn’t close enough to the loose ball and it was cleared. A minute later Scowcroft latched on to a bad ball and hit a shot which James picked up with less trouble. Town had had chances but these hadn’t been taken and they were soon to pay the price. In the last two games Marcus Stewart has rarely been missed, but on this evidence he will go straight into the side for West Ham next week.

With Reuser so dominant down the Town right it came as a great surprise when George Burley brought Clapham off, brought Magilton on and moved Reuser to the left and Jermaine Wright to the right. Immediately Town lost their one goal advantage.

Villa had shown little quality with the pace of Joachim their most potent threat and it was the ex-Leicester man who did the damage. His first goal, on 52, saw John McGreal fail to clear a ball and then the defence lay off Joachim as he used his pace to go by several defenders before hitting a left-foot shot in off Richard Wright’s left post.

The goal seemed to rock Town, particularly given the switch-around caused by the substitution. Villa were on top and after 71 minutes made it count. A ball was played over the top and Joachim had got beyond Hermann Hreidarsson. Just as it was looking like the Icelander would get back and thwart the striker Joachim hit a shot past the advancing Wright and again off the post and into the net.

Town pushed on to try and get the equaliser and as they did so they left the odd gap at the back. Chris Makin made an excellent challenge when Joachim looked as though he might have got his hat-trick showing why Town have paid money for him. He had a largely quiet debut, but on the odd occasion showed his new fans what he can do.

Town had a shout for a penalty when Jim Magilton looked to be impeded when running into the area. Not only did we not get a penalty, but the resulting shot and deflection off a Villa player was given as a goalkick by referee Styles. David James was visibly giggling at the decision.

Mark Burchill was brought on with just a few minutes to go, but despite the odd cross coming in Town couldn’t break down the defence. Late on Ginola made a rather agricultural challenge on James Scowcroft and this time was shown a yellow card. Earlier he had made another very obvious dive which again went unpunished. The whistle went after three minutes injury time and Villa had won the three points. Despite two well-taken goals this was a game Town certainly should have won with Villa hardly looking like the kind of side which would challenge at the top of the division as they surely expect to do.

Two more away games next and it is important for us to take some points in order to keep the European dream on track.

Photo: Action Images

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