Half-time report: Wolves v Aston Villa
Wolves 0 Aston Villa 1
A Stewart Downing goal has given Aston Villa a 1-0 half-time lead against West Midlands rivals Wolves at the Molineux.
The England winger broke the deadlock on the 25th minute after good work from the impressive Marc Albrighton, but Wolves are far from out of this contest.
Aston Villa started the first half brightly, but it was the hosts who had the match's first clear-cut opportunity. A precise through-ball from Kevin Doyle found David Edwards inside the penalty area, only for the Welshman's to slice his shot wide after good pressure from Steven Warnock.
The visitors soon found their feet, and on the 12th minute Emile Heskey was presented with a decent chance to put Gerard Houllier's side in front. Albrighton's delivery from the right flank found the retired England international, but he failed to connect with the ball properly on the stretch.
Albrighton, in search of his first senior goal, then had a chance himself just before the 20 minute mark. After picking up a loose Steven Fletcher ball, Albrighton ran through on goal, but fired a tame effort into the hands of Marcus Hahnemann.
Villa then had their best chance of the half to open to scoring when James Collins connected with a Downing corner. However, the defender's header was well saved by the leg of Hahnemann, as Wolves survived another scare.
But not long afterwards, Villa were able to break the deadlock. A driving run from Heskey across the edge of the area led to a pass to the impressive Albrighton, and his perfect low cross towards the far post found Downing for the simplest of tap-ins. It was the winger's third league goal of the campaign, and a deserved goal for the Villains.
Wolves were unsurprisingly combative all over the pitch and the opening 45 minutes were played with a good tempo throughout by both sets of players. With 10 minutes of the first half remaining Mick McCarthy's men almost hauled themselves level.
A superb left-footed strike by Fletcher from inside the right-hand side of the penalty area was well saved by Brad Friedel. Doyle was on hand for the follow-up, but his close-range effort was again blocked by the reliable veteran shot-stopper at his near post.
The hosts ended the first half on top and were rather unfortunate to go into the break a goal down. Jody Craddock met a long George Elokobi throw-in, only to see his goalbound header cleared to safety by Carlos Cuellar.
Despite Villa's one goal advantage, Wolves will still believe they have the ability to turn this derby on its head over the course of the second half.
Tags: