West Ham United 0 Aston Villa 1: MARTIN O'NEILL, asked if his Aston Villa team should be considered serious championship contenders, wondered puckishly if the interviewer had been drinking.
Certainly the odds against the title going to Villa are somewhat longer than they were in 1980, when Ron Saunders' team entered the Christmas programme lying a close second to Liverpool in the First Division, whereas now they are a slightly more distant third to Rafael Benitez's side in the Premier League.
Villa were champions in 1981 and won the European Cup the following season. Given the contrast in resources which now lies between the game's elite and the rest, a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League would be a comparable feat for O'Neill's team and, if luck is an omen, things appear to be going their way.
On Saturday an exhilarating contest, generously laced with chances saved or scorned, was won by a goal of pure chance 12 minutes from the end when James Milner's intended centre took a steep deflection off Lucas Neill, the West Ham captain, and sailed beyond the reach of Robert Green.
Manchester United's frolics in the Far East assured Villa of unimpeded progress to third place, and Arsenal's visit on St Stephen's Day will guarantee an intoxicated atmosphere at Villa Park. O'Neill refuses to be carried away.
"I believe that the big four can go on sustained runs and we still have to learn that art," he said. "We're doing fine, but a run like that - six or seven wins - would be exceptionally hard work for us and that would be the difference."
Saturday's win, like Villa's last-gasp victory at Everton a fortnight earlier, was achieved despite being dominated by the opposition for large parts of the game. The pace and fluency of West Ham's football belied their fraught league position and would surely have brought Gianfranco Zola a much needed win but for a combination of chronically poor finishing and more inspired goalkeeping by Brad Friedel.
From his first save, to keep out a shot from Craig Bellamy, to his last in blocking one from Calum Davenport, the 37-year-old American had Villa thanking the fates that this was one Yank who did not go home.
While the home fans were cheered by a performance which echoed the spirit of the 1-1 draw West Ham had forced at Chelsea, the old failings in front of goal were still there. Carlton Cole, having missed a late sitter at Stamford Bridge, wasted a free header at the far post on the hour.
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