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Aston Villa Reserves	1 - 0	Newcastle United Reserves
Half time:	0 - 0
Score Sheet:
Balaban (80)
	Teams
Boaz Myhill Jonathan Brewers Alan Wright Robert Edwards Liam Ridgewell Jay Smith Peter Hynes Lee Hendrie Bosko Balaban Hjalgrim Elttor John McGrath		Adam Collin David Cowan Wayne Quinn Steve Caldwell Marcelino Brian Kerr Stuart Green Jamie McClen Calvin Zola Lewis Guy Bradley Orr
Substitutes:
Colin Marshall for Smith (74) Steven Davis for Hynes (78) Luke Moore for Elttor (78)		Orr for Pedro Dimas (23) McGuffie for Dimas (64)
Subs not used:
Wayne Henderson David Scullion		Carl Bell Andy Ferrell
Bookings:
Ridgewell - foul on Zola (75)		Orr - foul on Hendrie (11)
Referee:
Attendance: est at 250, huddling in one narrow block of the rebuilt main (Trinity Road) stand.

Half time: Villa 0 Newcastle Reserves 0 

80 mins Marcelino's loss of possession just outside our area led to confusion in the defence, McGrath played the ball in and Quinn was fooled by Balaban's feint before he drove home from 10 yards out. It was tough luck on Collin, who had handled and distributed the ball well throughout the night and only been rarely tested with shots from the home side.  0-1

Full time: Villa 1 Newcastle Reserves 0 

Tommy Craig commented:

"In the first-half we missed a few chances and we paid the price for that.We gave the ball away on the edge of the box and it's been crossed over and the lad's stuck it in.

"Now we've got to rely on other people and that's disappointing.

"On the night the performance was ordinary relative to our recent standards.We didn't do enough to win the game. It was a game that was there to be won.

"I didn't think we were going to lose it and in any case the league's still going to go to the final game."

About Guy and Zola:

"They look quite a good pair. It was a difficult test for them as it was away."

United's stand-in strike force of U17 forwards Calvin Zola-Makongo and Lewis Guy gave it their best shot, but couldn't make the vital breakthrough that our possession deserved.

In front of a small Villa Park audience including many Toon sympathisers, Zola peppered the home goal with three early shots in a five minute spell but didn't seriously test Myhill between the posts.

However the second half was a different story, as a surging run into the area from the Congo-born youngster saw him shoot strongly on goal. Myhill was grateful to turn that one round his post for a corner.

Then with 12 minutes remaining and the teams still deadlocked, it was Zola again in the thick of things, going down in the box under challenge. The referee waved play on, to the relief of the home side.

Within two minutes Villa found a way past Collin in the United goal and Balaban's close-range shot was to prove the difference between the two sides. 

So our championship challenge faltered at a crucial time, and the absence of more experienced forward players ultimately cost us dear - no reflection on the effort of the young 'uns though, who would have no doubt been subbed had there been any attacking options on the bench.

If anything, it was the likes of McClen who weren't really on their game, while the contribution of Dimas was forgettable to say the least.

Brian Kerr's powerful runs through the centre of midfield were our main threat, and he was probably our best performer. 

Biffa 

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