Football: Villa's fortunes suffer another set-back

Derby County 2 Aston Villa 1

ASTON VILLA recalled the two most prominent members of their maverick tendency at Pride Park last night, but the presence of Mark Bosnich and Stan Collymore could not bring about a change in their rapidly fading fortunes. Defeat by Derby was their fifth in six matches, during which the side who led the Premiership for four months have taken just one point.

Bosnich, who has had surgery on a shoulder injury since being forced out at the start of October, could not be faulted for either of the goals by which Francesco Baiano and Deon Burton gave Derby a two-goal lead before a quarter of the match had elapsed.

But Collymore, who is being treated for depression, cut a forlorn figure as a Villa side, featuring Dion Dublin as a stop-gap centre-back, struggled to grasp the lifeline offered by Alan Thompson's reply shortly before half-time. His first starting appearance since December drew commendably supportive praise from John Gregory, though the performance scarcely merited it.

Villa's hopes of a place in next season's Champions' League have now given way to the realisation that they may now be pushed to claim even their customary berth in the Uefa Cup. Derby, who needed a fillip after the disappointment of Saturday's late FA Cup exit at Arsenal, are now only three points and one place behind Villa.

There was a certain inevitability, in an ill-tempered affair which saw four players from either side cautioned, about the booking of Collymore for a challenge on Igor Stimac after 14 minutes. What was depressing, so to speak, was the glee with which the punishment was greeted by the home crowd.

They soon had something more wholesome on which to vent their feelings. Bosnich, who had begun the season by conceding only two goals in eight games in front of a cast-iron Villa defence, was beaten twice in four minutes.

Both goals stemmed from passes by Stefano Eranio on the Derby right. The first, after 17 minutes, was met by his fellow Italian, Baiano, who marked his recall after being omitted at Highbury with a low drive which tore past the Australian from 18 yards.

Baiano promptly served up a sumptuous back-heeled pass which Burton bludgeoned beyond Bosnich from 22 yards. Curiously, Burton missed from a third of that range moments later, a reprieve which Villa exploited with a spectacular long-range strike by Thompson.

Bosnich demonstrated his value with a brilliant one-handed save from a header by the ever-dangerous Paulo Wanchope, Stimac's follow-up hitting the post. Villa were sufficiently heartened to mount belated pressure on Derby's goal, yet it was difficult to agree with Gregory's assertion that they were "more like our old selves in the second half".

Derby County (3-4-1-2): Hoult; Prior, Stimac, Laursen; Eranio, Bohinen, Powell, Schnoor; Baiano; Wanchope (Harper, 88), Burton. Substitutes not used: Carbonari, Christie, Elliott, Poom (gk).

Aston Villa (3-5-2): Bosnich; Southgate, Dublin, Barry; Scimeca (Joachim, 76), Draper, Thompson, Hendrie, Wright; Merson, Collymore. Substitutes not used: Hughes, Samuel, Lescott, Oakes (gk).

Referee: G Willard (Worthing).