Villans clinch Peace Cup final spot

31 July 2009 22:00
Both of Villa's goals were scored in the first half, Heskey breaking the deadlock after 14 minutes and Sidwell doubling the advantage eight minutes before half-time.[LNB]Villa had to play out the final 23 minutes with only 10 men after Heskey was sent off following a confrontation with Porto defender Maicon.[LNB]The Portuguese champions pulled a late goal back through Hulk's penalty, but Martin O'Neill's side had done enough to get through.[LNB]Villa, who started the pre-season tournament with a 1-0 defeat Malaga, must now wait for Friday's late match between Real Madrid and Juventus to see who they will meet in Sunday's final.[LNB]O'Neill's men were quickly on top against Porto thanks to Heskey, who got in front of his marker to direct Marc Albrighton's low cross from the right past Nuno.[LNB]Porto midfielder Raul Meireles and Villa striker John Carew then came close to netting for their respective sides, before Sidwell put the Premier League club 2-0 ahead in the 37th minute.[LNB]Porto defender Bruno Alves was unable to deal with a Villa corner from the right -and after the ball had deflected kindly into his path, Sidwell smashed a rising shot into the roof from close range.[LNB]Villa found themselves reduced to 10 men in the 67th minute when Heskey, who was carried off just six minutes into the opening match against Malaga after a clash of heads, was dismissed.[LNB]Villa were indebted to goalkeeper Brad Guzan for keeping their two-goal lead intact as he made superb one-handed saves to deny Hulk and Cristian Rodriguez - although it was not all one-way traffic, Villa also hitting the bar from a corner.[LNB]Guzan was finally beaten in injury time when Hulk, having won the kick himself after being brought down by Nigel Reo-Coker, slammed home a penalty - but it was not enough to deny Villa a place in the final.[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk