UEFA Cup - Hamburg ease past Villa to finish top

Eurosport - Thu, 18 Dec 08:25:00 2008

Croatian strikers Mladen Petric and Ivica Olic ran riot as Hamburg beat an under-strength Aston Villa 3-1 at the Nordbank Arena to finish top of Group F in the UEFA Cup.

Ivica Olic and Mladen Petric of Hamburg celebrate - 0

Petric put the home side ahead on 18 minutes, collecting a diagonal pass and lashing a left-foot shot past Brad Guzon from the edge of the box.

Olic doubled Hamburg's lead on the half-hour mark, heading home a left-wing cross from full-back Dennis Aogo.

The Croat grabbed a second on 58 minutes, latching on to Joris Mathljsen's long ball, before sending an angled drive beyond the reach of Guzon.

Teenager Nathan Delfouneso claimed a consolation for Villa on 83 minutes, but the visitors' disappointing evening was complete when Steve Sidwell was sent off seconds later for a second bookable offence.

The result left Villa third in Group F, and they will now face a group winner in the knock-out stages. Hamburg will be drawn against a third-placed team.

With both sides already assured of a place in the knock-out stages, Martin O'Neill made eight changes to the Villa team that beat Bolton 4-2 at the weekend, and manned the substitutes' bench exclusively with youth team players.

Such tinkering resulted in a disjointed performance from Villa, who lacked imagination going forward and looked naïve at the back.

All too often Carlos Cuellar and Zat Knight were caught square as Petric and Olic got on the end of hopeful long balls over the top.

In attack, Marlon Harewood was left isolated for long periods and Delfouneso struggled to assert himself on what was just his second first-team start for Villa.

The scoreline was perhaps a touch harsh on O'Neill's team, who were denied a penalty when Craig Gardner was caught with a studs-up lunge by goalkeeper Frank Rost.

The referee waved play on, and to compound Villa's disappointment Olic broke away and put Hamburg 3-0 up with a devastating finish.

There was still time for Delfouneso to re-direct Moustapha Salifou's shot past Rost and pull a goal back for Villa - the 17-year-old scoring for the second time in two UEFA Cup starts.

But the night would end on a sour note for Villa, when Sidwell pulled back David Jarolim on the edge of the area to earn his second yellow card and a suspension for the knock-out stages.

Ajax 2-2 Slavia Prague

Ajax will face a side knocked out of the Champions League in the knock-out stages, after grabbing a last-gasp equaliser against Slavia Prague to finish second in Group F.

Jan Vertonghen put the home side ahead on four minutes, but Slavia drew level when Jaroslav Cerny finished from Matel Krajcik's cross.

The visitors went ahead soon after, Krajcik once again the provider, as Marek Jarolim found the net.

But Luis Suarez popped up in the dying moments to slot home for Ajax and ensure they finished above Aston Villa.

Will Tidey / Eurosport

Comment 13 - 32 of 32

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  1. Draw is tomorrow 1200 CET

    From lee, on Thu 18 Dec 11:16PM

  2. When's the draw for the next round, out of­ interest?

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 11:06PM

  3. No top players are leaving Villa. We qualified two­ games ago for the last 32, so it was a chance to have a­ look at the fringe players and different systems in a­ real match for MON. It doesn't matter who we play­ next, its a knock out competition all the way now, so­ you will meet good teams anyway. Anyone who thought the­ first team would fly out to hamburg must know very­ little about football...........but considering my­ granny is better than Zat Knight, we didn't do too­ bad against a team full of top international­ players......we had three or four good chances in the­ second half to at least level it......when the serious­ stuff starts in Febuary, a serious Villa side will be­ there....make no mistake. UTV

    From lee, on Thu 18 Dec 7:20PM

  4. Sorry for the multi-post, I really hate Yahoo!s comment­ system sometimes.

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:46PM

  5. Therefore MON was CORRECT to rest important players as­ the team we put out demonstrates, we DO NOT have­ strength in depth, the last thing you want is for key­ players to get injured or sent off in a game that no­ bearing on anything.
    So MON was spot on in playing­ basically a reserve side. Yes its annoying for­ supporters, but look at the bigger picture, its worth­ it.

    As for Young and Gabby leaving - total rubbish.­ Young's just signed a new contract, as has Gabby I­ believe (last summer if I recall). Besides, you'd­ have to be mental to leave Villa at the moment,­ we're on a mission and that mission is to become a­ force in the premiership and Europe. Sure it will take­ time, but we have the perfect manager to do it.

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:45PM

  6. (Sorry for the spacing, without them it was an invalid­ comment apparently)

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:45PM

  7. w e w e r e t h r o u g h a n y w a y

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:45PM

  8. We did not need to get a result from it

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:44PM

  9. The game was not an important game at all

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:43PM

  10. To all those people questioning the under par team, its­ very simple.

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:42PM

  11. God SAKE this fecking invalid comment @#$%.

    From Steve, on Thu 18 Dec 3:42PM

  12. I'd throw man utd's example back in your face­ Troika.

    Man UTD have only fielded a 1st team squad in­ a 3rd rate competition (the 'world club cup' is­ somewhere between the carling cup and the johnstone­ paint cup) for 1 reason

    THE ADVERTISING­ REVENUES!!!

    Its the same reason why the FA like­ pushing David beckham into the england squad, in away­ games he generates about 1m GBP in merchandising­ sales.

    So don't put it across like man utd are­ taking THAT competition seriously... they're just­ taking the money seriously.

    From Mike S, on Thu 18 Dec 2:25PM

  13. As an Aston Villa fan I'm dissapointed and annoyed­ with Martin O'Neil (and other managers). What's­ the point in playing your second team in such an­ important competition? Now Villa will have to play one­ of the best teams in the next round and are now more­ likely to get knocked out!
    Also, what about their­ supporters?? they bought expensive match tickets, air­ fare, hotel fees, bus/taxi fees...and then they realise­ when they get to the match, that they are about to­ watch a "B" team....get beaten!
    Anytime a­ team loses, it creates a negative feeling with the fans­ and players, and could ultimately put the team on a­ slippery slope.
    I think all managers should be obliged­ to play their first team, and treat their fans with­ respect instead of contempt.
    Fergie and Co have just­ won 5 3 and are now in the world club final..using his­ first team!
    We are already being ripped off with match­ ticket prices, don't rub salt in the wound, by­ playing a second team as well.
    What do you think??

    From Troika, on Thu 18 Dec 12:51PM

  14. WHAT S THE POINT OF PLAYING ALL SEASON TO GET INTO­ EUROPE THEN SENDING OUT A BUNCH OF VERY POOR RESERVES ­ WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPORTERS

    From jennaquinn, on Thu 18 Dec 11:18AM

  15. I would prefer to see Villa rest players for games like­ this (as they did) and keep the push on for 4th in the­ league! MON has to prioritise.....

    From Michael, on Thu 18 Dec 9:51AM

  16. Heard rumours that Ash Young and Agbonlahor could be­ going to Manu & Arsnal respectivly - Can anyone­ shed any light on this - I'm up in Scotland and­ news comes through in bits and drabs up here!!
    It would­ be a big loss to lose these players after MON has got­ them working well together!

    From StephenA, on Thu 18 Dec 9:01AM

  17. call yourself a football fan george,what do you watch­ when or if you go to games,the game or opposing fans to­ throw abuse at them.
    football fan.­ (not a scumbag)

    From stevie p, on Thu 18 Dec 7:45AM

  18. good news

    From barry200926, on Thu 18 Dec 3:28AM

  19. thay well out played us,was to fast up front,and why­ the hell did he put a B team out there for

    From , on Thu 18 Dec 2:08AM

  20. who said liverpool scum were allowed on this?? up the­ villa;hope they win uefa cup[from a man u fan] l-pool­ scum scum scum scum

    From george.bustin, on Thu 18 Dec 1:24AM
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