Aston Villa 5, Burnley 2: Mat Kendrick's big match verdict
Feb 22 2010 by Mat Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
VILLA rolled out the welcome mat for the Premier League’s most gracious guests – then promptly proceeded to pull it from under them.
Burnley arrived at Villa Park with the top flight’s worst away record, having lost 12 and drawn one of their previous 13 matches on the road.
And despite being made to feel at home with Steven Fletcher’s tenth-minute opener, they were shown little more hospitality by a Villa team buzzing ahead of next weekend’s red-carpet occasion.
Martin O’Neill’s hosts with the most were, in the words of Clarets boss Brian Laws, allowed to “trash the place” after the break with a four-goal blitz within four second-half minutes after Ashley Young’s 32nd-minute equaliser.
Stewart Downing scored twice in two minutes and Emile Heskey and Gabby Agbonlahor also got in on the act to ensure the cup kings also maintained their Champions League challenge.
It leaves the claret and blues dripping with confidence ahead of Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round replay against Crystal Palace at Villa Park and Sunday’s Carling Cup final at Wembley.
The presence of an open-top bus parked up outside the stadium as part of the family fun day celebrations before kick-off had clearly whet the appetite for next weekend’s showpiece showdown against Manchester United.
At ten past two it seemed the Villa players had also been caught day-dreaming of glorious parades as Jack Cork played in David Nugent down the right and his ball across the box was tapped in by Fletcher. There seemed to be a slight hint of offside about Fletcher’s 11th goal of the season, but replays showed the Scottish striker was clearly level.
It was a goal which hardly improved the subdued atmosphere inside Villa Park with the fans also obviously having one eye on a potentially cracking cup week.
