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VIEW MATCH REPORT

Thursday 24 Aug 2006
Villa 2-1 Reading
Aston Villa's win against 10-man Reading.

The visitors took an early lead after Seol Ki-Hyeon's cross was calmly headed in by Kevin Doyle, before Villa equalised with a debatable penalty.

Ibrahima Sonko was adjudged to have fouled Luke Moore, which resulted in the Senegal defender's dismissal and Juan Pablo Angel's converted penalty.

Villa's winner came after Gareth Barry headed in Peter Whittingham's cross.

O'Neill had received a rapturous reception when he emerged from the tunnel before the start of the game and his decision to bring on Whittingham only served to further illustrate the former Celtic boss' apparent Midas touch.

With practically his first kick of the game Whittingham delivered an inviting cross that Barry was able to glance past Marcus Hahnemann.

Not that O'Neill did not experience some anxious moments in his first win as Villa manager as his team struggled to react to Reading's early goal.

Villa had secured a creditable draw away at Arsenal on Saturday by playing on the counterattack but Doyle's strike required the home side to adopt a different tactical approach.

Initially Villa appeared without the wit to unpick Reading, but Sonko's clumsy defending allowed the home side to equalise as well providing them with a crucial man advantage.

To their credit even at a numerical disadvantage Reading were never outclassed by Villa, but they were unable to really stretch the home side's defence.

In their opening Premiership match on Reading had conceded two early goals, but Steve Coppell's side did not make the same mistake on Wednesday as they took a fourth-minute lead.

Seol jinked past Moore before flighting the ball to the far post, a cross that was expertly headed in by the unmarked Doyle.

The South Korean midfielder - powerful and strong on the ball - had an impressive game for Reading and early in the second half he tested Sorensen with an accurate shot

Having taken an early lead it was Reading that continued to look the more likely side to score, notably when Steve Sidwell flashed a shot past the post.

Before Angel scored his penalty the Colombian had had the ball in the net, but he was ruled offside.

Moore also had a goal disallowed, again the result of Angel straying into an offside posiiton.

Angel's decision making proved shrewder from the penalty spot after referee Lee Mason ruled Sonko had denied Moore a goalscoring opportunity and the Colombian sent Hahnemann the wrong way.

Sonko's sending-off prompted a tactical switch as Coppell withdrew striker Leroy Lita, replacing him with Brynjar Gunnarsson.

Moore continued to trouble the Reading defence and although he was unable to add a third goal the visitors were never able to get enough men forward to threaten the Villa goal.