Heskey sends Villa third

Emile Heskey capped his debut with the winning goal as Aston Villa beat Portsmouth 1-0 on Tuesday.

Villa beat ten-man Pompey at Fratton Park

Emile Heskey capped his debut with the winning goal as Aston Villa beat Portsmouth 1-0 on Tuesday. Heskey paid off the first instalment of his £3.5million transfer fee with a sweet strike in the 20th minute which proved the difference as Villa extended their fine league form with an away win at Fratton Park. Luckless Portsmouth, who were down to ten men after Nadir Behadj was given a daft second yellow in the second period, came close to getting back on level terms, most notably with Peter Crouch missing a sitter from two yards. But after surviving a late surge from Pompey, including substitute John Utaka twice squandering late chances, Martin O'Neill's men move up to third level on points with Liverpool.

Slack defending

The visitors had barely threatened before keeper Brad Friedel's monster clearance was headed on unchallenged by Gabriel Agbonlahor, who found Heskey's fine run. The England striker was afforded too much space to meet his partner's ball on the edge of the area and drilled it first time past David James. Crouch missed a sitter as Pompey took the game firmly to their high-flying visitors in the second half. The industrious Jermaine Pennant, signed last week from Liverpool, brilliantly set up his former Kop team-mate but Crouch stabbed his shot over the crossbar from just six yards. Villa were happy to play it on the break although their defence, still lacking the injured Martin Laursen, looked none too happy against Pompey's continued pressure. Pennant and Sean Davis forced saves from Friedel and Portsmouth looked sound at the back despite the absence of skipper Sol Campbell in the second period. Campbell was replaced at half-time by another former Spurs centre-half, Younes Kaboul. But the South Coast side's hopes took a major dent when Belhadj was dismissed in the 71st minute.

Daft

Algerian Belhadj saw red - first for tripping Craig Gardner, which could have warranted a red alone - and then handling the ball after an innocuous clash with Carlos Cuellar. Curiously, though, it looked like Pompey had the numerical advantage, such was their territorial authority as Villa flagged. Gareth Barry and James Milner were willing soldiers for Villa, whose game is built so much on solid team-work and although Heskey was comfortably policed in the second period, Pompey were always concerned by the pace of Agbonlahor. Indeed, the 22-year-old forward should have wrapped it up five minutes before the break when he dragged wide trying to beat James at his near post after sprinting clear. Relegation looks a real threat now for Pompey with games against Liverpool and Manchester United coming up, but for Villa the future looks exciting - even though they rarely thrilled at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth	Team Statistics	Aston Villa
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
4	Shots on Target	1
9	Shots off Target	7
7	Blocked Shots	1
17	Corners	5
10	Fouls	12
0	Offsides	1
1	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0
74.3	Passing Success	61.4
25	Tackles	32
84	Tackles Success	68.8
66	Possession	34
56.1	Territorial Advantage	43.9