VAN NISTELROOY GOAL SINKS THE VILLANS

By Ryan Ghee
August 20 2005

Aston Villa fell to their first defeat of the season as a Ruud Van Nistelrooy strike was enough to earn Manchester United all three points at Old Trafford.

Aston Villa never really looked like scoring in the one-sided match at Old Trafford and they failed to have a single effort on goal. Had it not been for Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen, the scoreline could have been much larger.The Aston Villa keeper put on a stunning display as he produced a number of world-class saves.
The hosts started the match stronger and dominated throughout. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was denied by Sorensen after only six minutes and Mellberg was called upon to stop the Dutch striker just minutes later.
After only 20 minutes of the match, Aston Villa's injury crisis got even worse as Djemba-Djemba had to replace the injured Jlloyd Samuel.
Manchester United controlled the rest of the half as Park and Rooney both came close to opening the scoring. Park's effort was brilliantly tipped onto the bar by the sublime Sorensen and Rooney's volley was hacked off the line by Whittingham.
At the start of the second half Aston Villa threatened to create a chance but Davis overhit his through ball to Angel.
Alex Ferguson introduced Ronaldo and Heinze on the hour-mark and within minutes United took the lead. Ronaldo delivered a dangerous ball into the Villa box and after Mellberg failed clear the danger, Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored with a trademark close-range finish.
Thomas Sorensen was called into action yet again after 72 minutes as he brilliantly denied Paul Scholes' bullet header.
O'Leary called upon Solano and Moore with 15 minutes left but despite a flurry of late corners, the Villans failed to find an equaliser.

Speaking after the match, David O'Leary said, "I am proud of my players because they gave their all for me. The disappointing thing is that their goal came from a silly mistake. You need to work hard and defend well when you come to Old Trafford and I think we did that today. You know when you come here, there will be plenty of scrambles in and around your box but I think we coped with that well. The frustrating thing is that their goal was from a mistake on our part."