Litex Lovech 1 Villa 3 - analysis

The travel industry might be in the midst of a slump but it should now at least be able to rely on the continued custom of Villa fans.

Martin O'Neill can now add Bulgaria to Denmark and Iceland on the list of European countries his side have successfully navigated. Now the claret and blue army can begin to dream of glamour trips to cities such as Milan, Moscow, Seville and Stuttgart.

Make no mistake, this was not vintage Villa. Not by any means.

Nonetheless, as disappointed as the manager right down to the tea lady would have been with the performance, there was one thing all would agree on: the result.

Three away goals? Yes please. It now means Lovech need three of their own at Villa Park in a fortnight – and that's if Villa fail to score – which seems unlikely.

As menacing as the samba skills of Brazilian-born Bulgarian Tom and midfield schemer Ivelin Popov were, the reality is teams like Lovech rarely travel well.

Pre-match whispers the match would be postponed after heavy rainfall proved unfounded and the pitch held up relatively well.

Fears over the fitness of Ashley Young did prove legitimate and there was no place for him or Curtis Davies, who was left out as a precaution.

Young's speed, skill and set-piece delivery was sorely missed, Davies has been near-faultless alongside Martin Laursen in recent weeks and John Carew's ankle injury led O'Neill to switch to a 4-5-1 formation.

Craig Gardner played out on the right with Milner on the left and Reo-Coker moving inside. Carlos Cuellar came in to make what was a promising debut.

It just didn't click and it was no great surprise when Lovech took a 10th minute lead, after Reo-Coker was adjudged to have fouled Sandrinho.

Skipper Popov stepped up and curled his free-kick around the wall and inside the far post beyond Brad Friedel. It prompted bizarre scenes as he ran to the dugout to fetch his boxing gloves and celebrate in Rocky-like fashion.

A knockout blow to Villa? Not quite but it certainly left them reeling on the ropes for the next 20 or so minutes. Villa looked tired and despite having five in midfield were being overran.

Eventually they carved a chance when Milner crossed for Barry to convert, only for a contentious offside decision to nullify his glancing header.

Lovech continued to threaten and again it was Popov making mischief with an inch-perfect threaded pass beyond Laursen, which sent Wilfred Niflore clean through inside the box.

The Frenchman fooled Friedel with a drop of the shoulder but was foiled by the acute angle. Most definitely a golden chance for Lovech and the disappointment of the home bench suggested they feared it was one they would come to regret.

Perhaps doubtful, though, they expected to come to rue it quite so quickly. Laursen pumped a hopeful ball forward with just seconds left on the first half clock. Goalkeeper Uros Golubovic and two of his defenders made a complete hash of it, to leave Reo-Coker with a simple finish into the empty net.

It was the game's major turning point and Villa, still showing the effects of Monday night, could count themselves fortunate to be level.

Cedric Cambon could have no complaints when booked for a heavy challenge on 63 and within five minutes he was heading for an early shower.

His reckless rugby tackle on Agbonlahor left referee Chrisoforos Zografos with little option. Suddenly, the extra man gave Villa a new-found impetus and their cause was further aided when Lovech imploded again in the 70th minute.

Milner took advantage of a stray pass to float a ball under the crossbar and after Agbonlahor's flick-on cleared Golubovic's leap, full-back Venkov punched the ball off the line.

Barry marked his 400th appearance with a coolly-taken spot-kick and from then on there was only one side going to win the game. Substitute Harewood should have made it three but, somewhat fittingly, it was left to Stiliyan Petrov to round things off.

The midfielder, who had his wedding screened on Bulgarian national TV, had been given a hero's welcome on his return and as a mark of respect toned down his celebration after firing home at the second attempt in injury time.