Football: Saunders rediscovers finishing touch

Norwich City. 1

Aston Villa. .2

ON A night when Aston Villa brought back old friends after injury, there was no more welcoming sight than the return of Dean Saunders to scoring form. The Welsh international, who had gone 13 games without a goal in open play, ensured this valuable victory to end a barren run of six games which had prompted dark and unseasonal threats of remedial action from Ron Atkinson.

Villa last won at Carrow Road in their championship season of 1981. They are unlikely to match the achievement this time and will have to go some way to repeat last season's second place. That, of course, came with a margin of only two points from Norwich and again there was precious little to separate the two sides.

Vibrant after their success at Tottenham on Monday, the Canaries held the lead and the initiative for an hour. Their chances came and went but, as well as Villa were performing - and with Steve Staunton and Andy Townsend back to provide a more balanced framework - a year that had reward for Norwich's enterprising football seemed destined to end on a high note.

Then, calamity from Ian Culverhouse. At full stretch, the last defender who so rarely fluffed his lines left his pass back short in the 56th minute and Ray Houghton slipped Bryan Gunn to register his first Premiership goal.

Norwich would have settled for that but, three minutes later, Villa were in front with the kind of goal an out-of-sorts striker plays out in his dreams. Kevin Richardson's pass had Saunders thinking quicker than Culverhouse and, as he gathered the ball, he came away from the defender and turned to send a rising drive past Gunn's despairing fingers.

Saunders' absence from the scoring charts had forced the Villa manager to make public his impatience, but last night he had only praise for his striker. 'Due a goal?' answered Atkinson in mock surprise. 'I wouldn't say that, didn't he get one in August? To be fair he deserved this because he didn't half work hard.'

Thereafter Villa came to rely increasingly on Mark Bosnich who made outstanding saves as Norwich tried everything to avert another home lapse. Two stops from Mark Bowen were exemplary while Bosnich also demonstrated his speed in retrieving his ground to tip over Ian Crook's delightful 35-yard floater.

Bosnish had been beaten in the 27th minute by Chris Sutton, who might have scored on four earlier occasions. Sutton, however, made no mistake after Shaun Teale's slip and despite running wide still managed to squeeze home his shot. It was only the sixth his team has managed all season at home in the Premiership.

Norwich City (1-3-4-2): Gunn; Culverhouse; Newman, Butterworth (Johnson, 76), Woodthorpe; Fox, Crook, Smith (Ullathorne, 84), Bowen; Sutton, Ekoku. Substitute not used: Howie (gk).

Aston Villa (4-4-2): Bosnich; Cox, McGrath, Teale, Staunton; Houghton, Richardson, Barrett, Townsend; Saunders, Whittingham (Yorke, 74). Substitutes not used: Farrell, Spink (gk).

Referee: D Elleray (Middlesex).