Aston Villa 1 West Brom 2: Sunday Mercury Big Match Verdict

Oct 23 2011 by Mat Kendrick, Sunday Mercury

ROY Hodgson’s Albion history makers were boinging with delight while their Villa Park victims were booing with despair after a feisty derby shrouded in controversy.

Goals from Jonas Olsson and Paul Scharner cancelled out Darren Bent’s penalty after Chris Brunt missed a spot kick and Chris Herd was sent off during an incident-packed local skirmish.

It gave the jubilant Baggies their first league victory on claret and blue territory since John Trewick scored the winner in a 1-0 success back in May 1979.

Villa boss Alex McLeish was furious at Herd’s game-changing dismissal for an alleged stamp on Olsson on 36 minutes and plans to appeal the three-match suspension for violent conduct.

Hodgson was just as angry at what he dubbed a “wicked” potential leg-breaker by Alan Hutton on Shane Long which forced the striker to limp off early but went completely unpunished by referee Phil Dowd.

Hutton did then go into the book for a second, less explicit foul on Long moments later, to totally nobble the Irish striker who soon departed with a knee problem which will require a scan.

Long was not the only one to go early with Hutton and Herd also leaving the field before the break for different reasons during this ferocious derby battle.

By the time Herd was red-carded and Hutton was red-faced with blood, Villa were 1-0 up with Bent keeping his head, while all around were losing theirs, with a penalty on 23 minutes.

Bent, who had blazed over a fifth minute sitter after Barry Bannan’s mishit shot fell to him, drilled his spot-kick into the bottom left corner for his third goal of the season.

Baggies keeper Ben Foster was unable to reach the firm strike fired perfectly inside his right hand post after his foul on Gabby Agbonlahor following hesitation from Steven Reid led to the award.