Gareth Barry made a goalscoring return to the Aston Villa starting line-up as they beat FH Hafnarfjordur 4-1.
Villa in control after 4-1 stroll in Iceland
Gareth Barry made a goalscoring return to the Aston Villa starting line-up as they eased to a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their Uefa Cup second qualifying round clash with FH Hafnarfjordur in Reykjavik.
Watched by Fabio Capello, the former Villa captain capitalised on some terrible defending to stab Villa's opener in the fourth minute - with his appearance meaning he will now be cup-tied in the UEFA Champions League until after Christmas should he move to Liverpool.
Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor joined Barry on the scoresheet as Villa took control in the first half at the Laugardalsvollur Stadium.
Matthias Gudmundsson pulled one back for the hosts on the stroke of half-time, but Martin Laursen's second-half header secured Villa a comfortable lead to take back to Villa Park.
When Hafnarfjordur failed to clear a corner in the early stages they paid the price by conceding an early goal. Young whipped the ball back into the box and some calamitous defending left Barry with a simple task to power the ball past goalkeeper Gunnar Sigurdsson from close range.
Villa two-up
Young quickly made it 2-0 with a delightful individual effort. Finding himself in space on the left, he moved inside unopposed before turning a defender and side-footing the ball in off the post to double the lead after seven minutes.
After a quiet period - with Barry's performance somewhat understated after the goal - Olafur Johannesson's side wasted their best chance in the 27th minute when Atli Gudnason was picked out expertly by Dennis Siim but headed wastefully over.
They were given another good opportunity in the 32nd minute. Bjorn Sverrisson threaded the ball into the area well and Matthias Gudmundsson was unfortunate to see his effort blocked well by Davies. Matthias Vihjalmsson then wasted the rebound by firing over the bar.
Agbonlahor matched Young's strike with a similarly silky solo goal seven minutes before the break. Receiving the pass deep, he charged forward and showed determination to round two defenders before beating Sigurdsson with a cool finish.
Marlon Harewood found himself through on goal in space but wasted the one-on-one opportunity as Sigurdsson saved. Hafnarfjordur then got the goal they deserved as Matthias Gudmundsson stooped to head home Tryggvi Gudmundsson's cross from the left.
Second half
The first significant action of the second half saw Barry booked in the 55th minute for bringing down Bjorn Sverrisson just outside the box as he broke forward at pace, though Siim's free-kick was blocked.
Barry nearly scored again with a header, but from Young's right-footed cross the midfielder could only steer the ball inches over the bar.
Another corner was won by Villa in the 63rd minute and Laursen capitalised to make it 4-1 - with the influential Young providing the cross from the set-piece. As the young winger lifted the corner into the area, the classy Danish defender found himself in space to nod home.
Both sides made further changes in the last 15 minutes as the effervescent Young, Villa's most potent creative force by some margin, was taken off and replaced by Wayne Routledge in the 71st minute.
A series of half-chances were exchanged at each end with neither goalkeeper troubled until Routledge's 85th-minute volley which Sigurdsson saved well after Barry's precise cross from the left.
Villa head home with a healthy lead to defend in the return leg a fortnight from now and while Capello may have travelled to Iceland primarily to watch Barry, Young was undoubtedly the most impressive Englishman on the field on the night.
| FH Hafnarfjördur |
Team Statistics |
Aston Villa |
| 1 |
Goals |
4 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
3 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
9 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 3 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 1 |
Corners |
4 |
| 10 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 75.8 |
Passing Success |
72.1 |
| 31 |
Tackles |
20 |
| 71 |
Tackles Success |
75 |
| 59.3 |
Possession |
40.7 |
| 46 |
Territorial Advantage |
54 |
|
