James Beattie gets the only goal of the game, converting (narrowly) past substitute Villa 'keeper Postma.Beattie deserved something for all his hard work last night. He created plenty of space for himself and others and was often the one supplying telling passes for others to get chances in on goal. Saints probably didn't win a header all night, and so they were playing the ball more into space and to Beattie's feet. This is a much better option than hoping that Beattie will flick the ball on with his head from a long ball up front.
As I've said before, Beattie's overall game has improved a lot in the last couple of seasons and Saints should be making full use of a player who is more than a two dimensional centre forward.
The key incident in the game came right at the start of the second half. Brett Ormeord was impeded trying to get in on goal by Alpay. Enckleman made absolutely sure by clattering into Ormerod and the ref had no hesitation in calling for a penalty.
Perhaps the ref saw Enckleman as the last man or perhaps the Villa 'keeper is just cursed, because although Alpay was the man at fault, the ref gave the red card to the Villa 'keeper.
Villa boss, Graham Taylor also blamed Alpay after the game, but perhaps that says more about the behind the scenes tensions within the squad than anything else.
A ten man Villa still managed to give Saints a few problems which is something I'm sure Strachan is aware of.
Only a few months ago I was moaning about the Saints not getting in Piper and Etherington and wondering if we were ever going to see Fernandes make the grade.
Now Piper and Etherington can't get into their respective teams and Fernandes has come on leaps and bounds. Perhaps it was seeing the Frenchman out left where he wasn't suited or perhaps I just got it completely wrong (I know which is more likely).
Fernades continued his impressive form again against Villa and has become an important part of the Saints team in a very short space of time.
Fabrice provides Saints with pace, the ability to create and exploit space, and who provides the team with much of its attacking impetus.
Without him we lose a lot of forward momentum and end up hoofing the ball up to Beattie. Fernades made some brilliant passes against Villa and always looked to be a threat when he got the ball. This undoubtedly makes life easier for Beatiie, Svensson and Ormerod who can then focus more on their own games knowing that chances can be created throughout the side.
Unusually, Brett Ormerod didn't look like scoring a hat trick last night. Despite this, he did earn Saints their penalty kick and looked pretty lively. Brett's not the finished article by a long way. He'll continue to improve and has already shown what a talent he can be. Marians Pahars definetlyhas some competition on his hands and will have to be at his best to get back into the team. In the meantime Saints could all do with a bit more work in converting the number of chances we are currently creating.
Michael Svensson has been getting the nod over Paul Williams of late. Williams, who was brought in a stop gap last season, has done really well for the club. Svensson, with Swedish international experience, is clearly the player Saints are looking to in the future. However there's mush to suggest Saints are stronger with Williams on the park.
With Lundekvam going off injured against Villa, I was more than happy to see Williams come on. A Svensson/ Tahar pairing would have seen me hiding behind my hands for the rest of the game. In Williams I knew there would be no nonsense and Villa would have a hard time creating much of anything in front of goal.
Svensson is still settling into the Premiership and into the squad. A mix-up with Niemi stood out as well as failing to clear a couple of Villa attacks.
While it may be only a matter of time before we see a great Svensson/ Lundekvam partnership, I think there will be a few more nervous moments along the way.
Saints were fairly solid throughout last night, without being particularly outstanding. Needless to say, I'd settle for that result on every trip. Chris Marsden, pictured taking on the only Ecuadorian you'll be likely to see in the Premiership any time soon, put in a committed display.
While the attacking edge to his play might be a little less than last year, he still puts in a few runs and best of all allows Bridge the freedom to get forward.
While the addition of an Etherington or a Fadiga might improve Saints as an attacking force, there's so much more Marsden adds to the side. Should he be moved away form the left hand side, he's a certainty to start in the centre of midfield.
"Please sign me for Saints," says Hadji, in a desperate bid to get away from the constant doom and gloom around Villa Park. "I used to play for Coventry ", added the Moroccan, safe in the knowledge that Strachan can't refuse to add an ex-Sky Blues player to the Saints playing staff.
"Can you play on the left ?" asks the Ginger Genius who has been wondering how his new barnet will look in front of the SKY cameras.
...and finally, Beattie celebrates his goal.
