No FA Cup upset as Aston Villa defeat Bristol Rovers (From Gazette Series)

No FA Cup upset as Aston Villa defeat Bristol Rovers

10:56pm Sunday 8th January 2012 in Thornbury Sport By Jeff Bolitho

BRISTOL Rovers failed to provide a cup upset as Aston Villa ran out comfortable winners in their FA Cup clash at the Memorial Stadium.

A near-capacity crowd of over 10,800 and the ESPN cameras were not enough to inspire the Pirates as the gulf in class between the League Two strugglers and the Premiership side were evident throughout Saturday’s game.

Villa boss Alex McGleish signalled his intent to stay in the competition by picking a strong line-up, only leaving Agbonlahor on the bench out of his star players.

Rovers started brightly but it was not long before their opponents began to pass the ball around with ease and dominate possession. Although Bent and Heskey were somewhat subdued up front, their defence easily contained the punchless Gas strike force and the midfield strung passes together at will.

It was no great surprise when the impressive Marc Albrighton put Villa 1-0 up with a ruthless finish after neat approach play.

The second half continued in much the same vein, with Rovers making a promising start but unable to continue the momentum to put Villa under any serious pressure.

Substitute Agbonlahor showed his class with a fine individual goal and Ciaran Clark put the game to bed with an equally stunning third. Rovers at least claimed a consolation after Scott McGleish punished Richard Dunne’s poor back pass, but the 37-year-old striker failed to convert a penalty just minutes later that would have set up a grandstand finish in injury time.

It was too little too late and it truth a 3-2 scoreline would not have provided an accurate reflection on the game and Villa’s superiority.

They were stronger and more powerful throughout as Rovers were left chasing shadows for much of the contest.

At times it resembled a training ground exercise for Villa and it was clear at an early stage there would be no FA Cup fairytale.

However, Rovers can be proud of their Cup efforts this season and the board will be satisfied with the extra revenue created from reaching the third round and having two games televised live.

Losing 3-1 to a quality Premiership team is no disgrace and the Pirates must now concentrate on putting all their efforts into moving away from the League Two relegation zone.