Aston Villa 1 MSK Zilina 2

Dec 5 2008 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

FEBRUARY 2, 1991 was a good day for Aston Villa.

Jo Venglos’s side beat Derby County 3-2 at Villa Park with goals from Gordon Cowans, Tony Cascarino and Dwight Yorke to go some way to keeping the club in the old First Division.

It was also the day that Nathan Delfouneso came into the world.

So it was fitting that Slovakian Venglos should be there as a spectator to witness first hand the rise of a potential superstar in the making.

Still 17, but oozing confidence and finesse, Delfouneso lit up a dull night where Villa’s first defeat in the UEFA Cup in seven years could potentially be just as damaging to their European hopes as a 3-2 home defeat to Croatian no-hopers Varteks.

That September 2001 night, just as here where Martin O’Neill made eight changes, John Gregory tinkered with his line-up and defensive mistakes cost Villa dear.

Gregory’s decision to rest his captain, Paul Merson, as well as Lee Hendrie and Dion Dublin led to their downfall as they were unable to turn around the deficit in the second leg.

Here it was more to do with O’Neill’s faith in Zat Knight, who did not cover himself in glory for either Zilina goal.

O’Neill’s decision was to take the heart out of his engine room which was woefully filled by Moustapha Salifou, who had been unwell, and Isaiah Osbourne.

Up front Marlon Harewood looked a broken man shorn of confidence alongside Delfouneso, whose performance, capped by a wonderful first goal on his first start, recalled Darius Vassell, Luke Moore or Gabby Agbonlahor when they were finding their feet.

This is, after all, a competition that a decade ago saw Vassell make