Aston Villa 0 Queens Park Rangers 1

Sep 25 2008 By Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

MARTIN O’Neill was claiming it wasn’t ‘déja vu’ while for Iain Dowie it plainly was.

The Villa boss’s argument was that his team had created enough chances to win this one at a canter when they had deserved nothing against Leicester 363 days earlier.

Dowie had masterminded a Carling Cup shock of earthquake proportions at Manchester United a year ago while with Coventry City.

Here he was again producing another result high on the Richter scale to dump Villa out of a competition they had designs on winning.

O’Neill was probably being kind to his players.

True to form he defended them afterwards to the hilt – even Marlon Harewood, whose two first-half misses did more than anything to ensure that lightning very definitely struck twice in the same place as when Gary Megson’s Leicester were in town.

Emile Boirac, the 19th century French psychic researcher, first coined the phrase ‘déja vu’.

If he were alive today it’s likely O’Neill would be telling him there was no such thing and to get a proper job.

“Was it déja vu like Leicester City last year? I didn’t think so. I felt we had enough chances to win the game but we didn’t do,’’ argued O’Neill in his post-match summary.

But apart for Harewood’s woeful finishing and a golden chance for skipper Gareth Barry late on, when he was clean through, Villa looked every inch a side who were playing their fourth game in nine days.

John Carew may have stood tall against Leon Barnett and Albion at the weekend but he was shackled by a superb QPR back line here to appear often as small as Ronnie Corbett.

A half-time sing-a-long gave the fans something to talk about because there was little to whet the appetite on the pitch save for the return of the captaincy to a Villa legend who looked as if he would be wearing red this season.

O’Neill had seemed to heed the warning of the Leicester defeat last September by fielding a strong side, albeit with six first-teamers rested from The Hawthorns but still containing Barry, Ashley Young, Stiliyan Petrov and John Carew.

There was a debut for American keeper Brad Guzan, who produced one good save late on to keep Villa in it, and a first appearance at Villa Park for Carlos Cuellar. For once the bench contained an assortment of riches. But Damion Stewart rose unmarked to Daniel Parejo’s cross – Cuellar may have slipped – and powered home the only goal before the hour and Villa were left to concentrate on the UEFA Cup.

For a man who once held such a magical spell over the Carling Cup it was too much for O’Neill to bear.

Harewood skied a great chance to put Villa ahead in the 12th minute after Gavin Mahon’s error had allowed Stiliyan Petrov to slide the striker straight through on goal.

Whether it was the fact it was a rare start, Harewood’s first in domestic action since away at Manchester United in March, the burly frontman produced his very worst when he let fly from 30 yards and hit the front of the far right executive box at the corner of the North and Doug Ellis Stands.

One moment of magic light up the first half when Mahon fell asleep and allowed Ashley Young to cut inside unchallenged. The winger then curled a superb 20 yard shot inches wide of the far post.

Young was again at the heart of Harewood’s next chance when he teased Mahon and delivered a pin-point cross into the centre which Harewood headed over the crossbar from five yards.

After falling a goal behind it could have gotten worse but for debutant Guzan racing off his line to deny Patrick Agyemang.

Gabby Agbonlahor and Wayne Routledge replaced Isaiah Osbourne and the hapless Harewood to try to inject some much needed pace and urgency.

Craig Gardner drilled a 25-yarder into the side-netting but huff and puff as they might it clearly was not going to be Villa’s night as they fell the same way as Portsmouth, Everton and Manchester City of England’s UEFA Cup participants.

VILLA (4-1-3-2): Guzan 6, Gardner 6, Knight 6, Cuellar 6, SHOREY 7; Petrov 7; Young 6, Osbourne 6 (Routledge 68, 6), Barry 7; Carew 6, Harewood 5 (Agbonlahor 68, 6). Not used: Friedel, Delfouneso, Davies, Salifou, Reo-Coker.

QPR (4-5-1): Cerny; Connolly, Hall, Stewart, Delaney; Ledesma (Balanta,90+2), Parejo, Mahon, Rowlands, Buzsaky (Leigertwood,82); Agyemang (Di Carmine,67). Not used: Camp, Blackstock, Gorkss, Ephraim.

Referee: L Mason (Lancashire).

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