Ugo Ehiogu scored his first goal of the campaign to settle a one-sided
Midlands derby with out-of-sorts Coventry City at Villa Park.
Central defender Ehiogu struck in first-half injury-time to continue Villa's
unbeaten Premiership run which stretches back to early December.
The result was hardly surprising given the Sky Blues' recent woeful form and
inability to win away from home this season.
But John Gregory's side had enough
clear-cut openings to have won far more comfortably.
Coventry manager Gordon Strachan made five changes from the side beaten 3-0 at
Leeds but it made little difference for long periods when his side were second
best.
They had no answer to the flair of Paul Merson and man of the match Benito
Carbone while Gregory's `bulldogs' Ian Taylor and George Boateng established a
grip in the centre of the park they seldom relinquished.
Coventry clearly missed the competitive Carlton Palmer in that department and
it meant that the creative Gary McAllister was often forced to a deeper and less
effective role.
There was precious little service for the Coventry strikeforce to feed upon
and they got small change from a Villa defence in which Gareth Southgate was a
commanding figure.
It was fully 79 minutes before they forced their first corner and Villa
stand-in goalkeeper Peter Enckelman will seldom have a more comfortable
afternoon.
Villa in contrast are currently in an unstoppable mood and brimming with
confidence after losing just one of their last 18 matches.
When they lost at Highfield Road in November there were fears that Gregory's
job would be in jeopardy - but since then they have not looked back.
Merson had been voted the Player Of The Month for February and he continued in
the same irresistible form and fully deserved his standing ovation after his
late substitution.
But Carbone was also in tremendous form and on this evidence the quicker Villa
tie him to a long-term contract the better.
Villa were soon on the offensive and Ehiogu should have given them the lead
after only two minutes.
Merson and Carbone worked a short corner routine before the ball was played
back to Villa wing-back Alan Wright.
His centre picked out Ehiogu in acres of space at the far post but his first
touch let him down and the Sky Blues were able to scramble the ball clear.
Merson orchestrated matters in the centre of the park and his incisive breaks
often troubled the visitors defence.
But it was still fully 20 minutes before Coventry 'keeper Magnus Hedman was
called into meaningful action when he tipped over a rising 20 yard effort from
former Coventry player Boateng.
Then Villa skipper Southgate missed a golden chance when he headed Merson's
corner wide at the far post.
Coventry barely posed a threat in the opening half hour but they finally came
to life and Robbie Keane could have given them the lead.
He got on the end of a cross from John Eustace but sent his volley across goal
rather than into the corner of the net.
Villa were soon back on the offensive and Carbone and Taylor somehow failed to
get on the end of a low cross from Joachim when all it needed was a touch.
But Villa were not to be denied and they finally broke through in the fourth
minute of injury-time in the first half after Mustapha Hadji had been booked for
a foul on Mark Delaney.
That man Merson took the free-kick from the right touch-line and Ehiogu stole
in at the far post to head past the exposed Hedman.
Keane, who had missed the previous game at Leeds with a knee injury, was
replaced at half-time by the transfer-listed Noel Whelan.
But it made no difference to the general pattern of play with Villa continuing
to dominate proceedings.
Carbone was getting through a tremendous amount of work and he was only just
too high with a dipping effort from 25 yards out.
Hadji was just too high with a free-kick in a rare Coventry raid _ and Villa
were soon back on the offensive.
Joachim surged into the penalty area and around the challenge of Froggatt
before seeing his curling effort finger-tipped around the post by Hedman.
Carbone's pass then split the Coventry defence and found Joachim unmarked in
the area but his control let him down and Hedman was able to collect the loose
ball.
Hedman then came to his side's rescue when he deflected a shot wide from
Joachim after Eustace had played the ball straight into his path.
Teams
Aston Villa:
Enckelman, Ehiogu, Southgate, Barry, Delaney,
Taylor, Boateng, Merson (Stone 80), Wright,
Joachim (Walker 87), Carbone.
Subs Not Used: Watson, Hendrie, Cutler.
Booked: Ehiogu, Wright.
Goals: Ehiogu 45.
Coventry:
Hedman, Gustafsson, Shaw, Hendry, Froggatt,
Eustace (Burrows 74), Chippo, McAllister, Hadji,
Keane (Whelan 45), Roussel.
Subs Not Used: Quinn, Pead, Hyldgaard.
Booked: Hadji, Roussel.
Att: 33,177
Ref: U Rennie (Sheffield).
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