57 Hatters Years : ASTON VILLA

ASTON VILLA

MY RECORD

	P	W	D	L

League Cup	1	0	0	1

THE GAME

Wednesday 25th October 1995

Coca-Cola Cup (Round 3)

Aston Villa 2 – 0 Stockport County

Att: 17,679

1 Neil Edwards, 2 Sean Connelly, 3 Lee Todd, 4 Tom Bennett (12 Michael Oliver), 5 Mike Flynn, 6 Jim Gannon, 7 Chris Beaumont, 8 Paul Ware (14 Jeff Eckhardt), 9 Marc Lloyd-Williams (13 Richard Landon), 10 Alun Armstrong, 11 Martyn Chalk

Trips to the grand old stadia of English football had been few and far between in the first 15 years or so since I started going to away games. Old Trafford, on ‘that night’; Maine Road on a night of infamy; Wembley of course and what was by 1987 a sad and sorry Molineux but that was about it.

The reward for a victory over Ipswich in Round 2 delivered us a trip down the M6 to Villa Park. Traditionally a home of FA Cup semi-finals, and of course used for the 1966 World Cup, it certainly filled the bill of being one of the great grounds in the English game, and certainly one to look forward to. The M6 proved to be its normal self, and led to a late arrival. The area allocated to County fans hardly provided a good view, and the fare on offer didn’t warm the cockles of the heart either. From the Villa fans perspective it was a routine 2 goal win.

Reflections on the trip to Villa Park

THE GAME