Bristol Rovers 1 Aston Villa 3 - analysis

Despite some choppy waters on the home straits, the Pirates of Bristol Rovers were put to the sword and Aston Villa sailed into the fourth round.

Tight dressing rooms, a cramped ground with a feisty home crowd and a pitch which was cut up, bobbly and heavy – and they were the good parts – ensured this FA Cup tie had all the elements for an upset in front of the television cameras.

Fortunately Alex McLeish had already listened to the shipping forecast.

At no point in the contest, save for bit of added time at the end, did the claret and blues raise the white flag as they controlled and dominated the match to pass this awkward examination with flying colours.

Villa kept their composure throughout with a disciplined and professional performance to ensure the only bounty the Pirates' fans could enjoy afterwards was from what remained of their Christmas selection boxes.

This was a display which will have pleased McLeish greatly and the body language of the manager afterwards exuded the confidence of a man who is fully in control of the tiller.

With a run of winnable games coming up over the next month, those Villa fans asking for McLeish to walk the plank after the Swansea defeat may well find they have to revise their estimations.

And when they dock back into port against Everton on Saturday, the home faithful should use the opportunity to jump aboard and unite behind their manager rather than attempt to spark mutiny in the ranks. The Villa boss will have won over a handful of dissenters simply with his team selection for the game at the Memorial Stadium, in contrast to his predecessor.

Wary of the fierce backlash of criticism that Gerard Houllier received when Villa exited the FA Cup with a weakened side at Manchester City, McLeish delivered on his pre-match promise of selecting a strong line-up as he made just three changes from the side which lost to Swansea.

Marc Albrighton and Emile Heskey were recalled with Gabby Agbonlahor and Charles N'Zogbia on the bench, while Alan Hutton came in at right-back after Carlos Cuellar was ruled out with a thigh injury.

Bristol Rovers had the first meaningful attempt on target in the sixth minute when Chris Zebroski's low drive from just outside the box was comfortably saved by Brad Guzan.

Home keeper Michael Poke was called into action in the 23rd minute when Albrighton's corner picked out the head of Heskey inside the six-yard box but his attempt was tipped over the crossbar.

Villa grew in confidence as they adjusted to the conditions and deservedly took the lead 10 minutes before half-time when captain Stiliyan Petrov threaded a superb through ball for Albrighton who outpaced Rovers skipper Gary Sawyer and fired the ball through the legs of Poke.

Zebroski continued to pose the biggest threat for the home side and kept Guzan on his toes with a testing long-range attempt shortly before the break. Rovers began the second half positively and veteran Scott McGleish sliced a shot into the crowd.

But the Pirates had the wind taken out of their sails in the 64th minute when half-time substitute Agbonlahor added a second with a fine individual strike.

Agbonlahor, who replaced Heskey at the interval, danced through several tackles after a clever build-up involving Petrov and Ciaran Clark before he calmly side-footed a low shot into the corner past the despairing dive of Poke.

Rovers responded with a spell of attacking play and Joe Anyinsah's low shot on the turn shortly afterwards whistled past Guzan's post.

But Clark effectively made the result safe in the 78th minute when his Franz Beckenbauer-esque run, which started inside his own half, ended with a silky finish as he cut back inside on his favoured left foot and bent the ball into the net.

McGleish reduced the deficit in injury time when he took advantage of a shocking mistake by Richard Dunne, who sliced a back pass to Guzan, and calmly lifted the ball over the American goalkeeper.

The home crowd sensed a famous comeback moments later when Stephen Warnock was harshly deemed to have handled inside the penalty area but McGleish saw his spot-kick in added time saved by Guzan which killed off their undeserved hopes of a spell of late drama.

And, with Villa's place to the next round safely assured, McLeish can now turn his attentions to strengthening his squad during the transfer window and, you never know, perhaps plotting a course all the way to Wembley.

By Timothy Abraham