Source: Daily_Mail
Rapid Vienna 1 Villa 0: Early goal sees Rapid decline for poor Villa
Their record now stands at two wins in the last 18 games stretching back to February. More recently, it's two games and two defeats, with no goals scored this season. These are worrying times for Aston Villa. [LNB]Defeat at home to Wigan, followed by another loss in Vienna; A 1-0 scoreline flattered the visitors and they were behind after just 16 seconds. Villa face a tricky task if they are to reach the group stages in the Europa League. [LNB] Rapid start: Nikica Jelavic celebrates opening the scoring for the hosts in the second minute[LNB]With the memory of that shock defeat to Wigan Athletic still fresh in the mind, just about the last thing Martin O'Neill would have wanted was for his keeper, Brad Guzan, to be fetching the ball from Villa's net so early on. [LNB]But an untimely slip by Curtis Davies afforded Nikica Jelavic the kind of opportunity that strikers dream about. Despite that early fillip, Rapid left this play-off in the balance after an entertaining and open first leg. [LNB]Buoyed by the goal, a passionate crowd that basked in the early evening heat grew in confidence with their team. And, by the final whistle, it was easier to argue that Villa deserved a far bigger deficit to chase in the second leg. [LNB] Feisty battle: James Milner tangles with Yasin Pehlivan[LNB]It all added up to another miserable night for O'Neill who must now be working overtime to strengthen a squad that is looking increasingly short of confidence. [LNB]With John Carew again missing - this time with a virus - Villa deployed a five-man midfield who found it difficult to put Rapid under any sustained pressure. Davies is now an injury doubt for Monday's trip to Anfield, after a shoulder injury. [LNB]O'Neill remained relatively confident. 'It was disappointing to concede so early, but Curtis slipped over,' he said. 'And I wasn't surprised to see Rapid put us under that pressure. They are a very good side as they showed by beating Liverpool a couple of weeks ago. [LNB]Dejected: Villa's Emile Heskey and Nigel Reo-Coker trudge off at the end of the match[LNB]'The atmosphere was terrific and I thought we gave a very good responseafter the goal, although I accept they had a lot of chances. We had oneor two ourselves, however.' [LNB]Only one Villa player had touched the ballbefore Guzan was picking it out of his net. [LNB]Rapid humped the ballforward straight from the kick-off, Davies's weak header was seizedupon by Mario Konrad and whipped out wide to Christopher Drazan. [LNB]Thewinger delivered an inviting cross but one that should have been metwith a defender's head. As the ball flew into the danger-zone however,the centre-half crumpled to a heap on the floor. [LNB]Jelavic could hardlyhave believed his good fortune, although his header could not have beenmuch better placed. Guzan was a spectator as the ball bounced into thenet. [LNB]With a five-man midfield, Villa found it difficult to gain afoothold in the game. The first half passed without them posting adirect effort on the Rapid goal. [LNB]And, by the final whistle, the shotcount weighed heavily in favour of the hosts who had keeper Guzan tocurse. The big American stood tall - twice in as many minutes as hesaved strikes from Drazan. [LNB]With three minutes to go, Helge Payer wasfinally forced into action, stopping James Milner's half-hit shot afterAshley Young's impressive centre. [LNB]It was too little, too late. ButO'Neill warned: 'We are capable of turning this around. It is stillthere for us.' [LNB] EXCLUSIVE: Aston Villa hijack Stoke bid for Collins with £5m offerAston Villa linked with £12m move for West Ham defender Matthew UpsonASTON VILLA FC
