AT LAST Villa Park has witnessed the start of a winning streak...

But the naked truth is that the invader who braved the elements to strip starkers and dance across the pitch always had a better chance of raising a smile than Aston Villa did against title-chasing Manchester City.

The streaker was soon restrained in a belated attempt to protect his modesty, but, even allowing for the high standard of the opposition yesterday afternoon, nothing can cover up the fact Villa have now failed to win in seven home games.

Villa fans are more concerned about which players put their kit on than which fans take it off, and if the worst Villa Park run in their Premier League history is not halted, it will be more than just 100 or so anti-Alex McLeish protestors tearing strips off them.

Yet, had the claret and blues’ curse of conceding from corners not reared its ugly head for Joleon Lescott’s winner, they could have emerged with a positive result.

McLeish chose to lose the flair and opt for the functional, meaning dysfunctional duo Stephen Ireland and Charles N’Zogbia started on the bench following their emotional outbursts last weekend.

Stephen Warnock was also dropped after a worrying loss of form, while Ciaran Clark added to the manager’s woes after sustaining a knee problem in training on the eve of yesterday’s match.

Richard Dunne has now joined him on the treatment table.

Carlos Cuellar justified McLeish’s faith in trusting him to cover on his weaker side with the Spanish centre-half putting in an impressive professional performance at left-back.

James Collins and Marc Albrighton returned from injuries to play, with Emile Heskey and Gary Gardner completing the four changes from the defeat at Newcastle.

It was clear that Villa were set up to frustrate City, in a bid to emulate Everton’s game plan, which yielded three points at Goodison Park last month.

Yet ultimately it frustrated a fanbase who will already have waited four months for a home victory by the time Fulham visit Villa Park on March 10.

McLeish’s methods were understandable against Roberto Mancini’s title chasers, who had already scored 63 times in the Premier League this season, including 26 on their travels.

However, as soon as City did get the breakthrough goal it was always going to be tough for Villa to switch to an alternative attacking mode to get back into the game.

Although, in fairness, they gave it a good go in the closing stages.

With all of City’s intricate attacking options and classy creative influences, it was Sod’s Law that the hosts would concede from a corner and old boy’s law that James Milner and Gareth Barry would be involved. Milner whipped over an inswinging cross from the left and Barry headed it back into the six-yard box where Lescott reacted quicker than Dunne to sweep the loose ball past Shay Given.

Villa had been warned when Vincent Kompany threatened from a corner earlier in the second period.

If the goal was a shot in the arm for City, then they felt Aleksandar Kolarov’s shot at Alan Hutton’s arm soon after should have earned them a penalty.