Match Report

March 17, 1998, UEFA Cup at Villa Park, Birmingham.

Aston Villa - Atletico Madrid 2-1 (0-1)
Taylor 72 (Joachim), Collymore 74 (Hendrie); Caminero 28.
2-2 on aggregate, Atletico Madrid win on the away goal rule

Aston Villa: Bosnich, Staunton, Southgate, Ehiogu, Taylor, Draper (Nelson 54), Milosevic (Collymore 54), Yorke, Joachim, Wright, Hendrie. Subs Not Used: Oakes, Grayson, Charles, Collins, Davis. Booked: Hendrie.

Atletico Madrid: Molina, Frascarelli (Provan 59), Santi, Vizcaino, Vieri, Pantic (Lardin 58), Aguilera (Toni 81), Kiko, Geli, Caminero, Bejbl. Subs Not Used: Futre, Jose Marie, Jaro, Paunovic. Booked: Caminero, Kiko.

Att: 39,163
Ref: M Van Der Ende (Holland).

Electronic Telegraph Match Report
By John Ley

Brave Villa go down fighting

	Collymore rifles in the second Villa goal.

ASTON VILLA'S quest for European glory came to an end on the away goals rule at Villa Park last night, but not without a tremendous fight. A goal down after 28 minutes, they responded with two goals in three second-half minutes, from Ian Taylor and substitute Stan Collymore, to set up a frantic finale.

Amid remarkable scenes and an incredible atmosphere, Villa launched a late assault on Atletico's goal with Dwight Yorke striking the crossbar and Lee Hendrie forcing a marvellous late save from Jose Molina, but it was not enough.

Despite Villa's pre-match optimism, a goal midway through the first half from Jose Luis Caminero put the visitors in control.

Caminero's two goals in the previous round against Croatia Zagreb had put Atletico into the quarter-finals; his latest strike stunned Villa.

Not since 1984 had an English team reached the last four of this tournament - Nottingham Forest lost to Anderlecht before Spurs beat the Belgians to win the trophy - but Atletico arrived in Birmingham boasting an impressive recent European record, having gone seven previous away games without defeat.

Villa, though, had won 12 of their previous 17 home games in the UEFA Cup, but began a goal behind after Christian Vieri's first-half penalty in the Estadio Vicente Calderon a fortnight earlier.

Manager John Gregory, just three weeks into the job at Villa, was able to choose from four fit strikers but kept faith with Julian Joachim alongside Savo Milosevic and Yorke, available after a one-match domestic ban. He decided against recalling Collymore, who was, instead, named as a substitute.

Atletico recalled Czech international Radek Bejbl, who was suspended from the first leg, while Vieri continued in attack, after scoring 22 goals in 20 games, alongside Kiko.

The visitors began with purpose and with only 16 seconds on the clock they had forced their first corner, Ugo Ehiogu intercepting Carlos Aguilera's centre. And from their second corner, 60 seconds later, Mark Draper diverted Milinko Pantic's kick narrowly past his own left post.

Clearly, as they displayed when they won 2-0 at Leicester in the first round, Atletico are a team not frightened to travel and the early exchanges were of grave concern. But Villa rallied, undeterred by the early pressure, with Draper, Milosevic and Ehiogu all shooting off target.

However, in the 28th minute, Atletico claimed the opening goal. Kiko's long ball caught Villa by surprise; as Ehiogu and Bosnich challenged, the ball bounced off the defender's shoulder and into the path of Aguilera.

He saw Caminero to his right, rolled the ball a short distance and the forward, missing with 'flu at the weekend, responded with his third goal in four European ties despite an attempt by Gareth Southgate to clear off the line.

It was Caminero who won the penalty in Madrid a fortnight earlier and his latest goal left Villa needing to score at least three goals.

Before the interval they responded briefly, when Draper's 25-yard attempt was blocked but not held by Atletico goalkeeper Molina and, before Ian Taylor could reach the rebound, the ball was dispatched to safety. Yorke, too, had a chance but sent a chip from 10 yards too high.

Villa began the second half with only one option - to attack. And within the opening three minutes Milosevic headed over and then Hendrie and Yorke combined for Joachim, but as if to highlight Villa's frustration, he shot across goal.

Gregory took a gamble, calling on Collymore and Fernando Nelson for Milosevic and Draper in the 53rd minute and this signalled a spell of sustained pressure from Villa.

Yorke hit a drive which Molina did well to parry then from Wright's left-wing cross the Tobagan rose unmarked to head over the goalkeeper but onto the bar.

Hope came in the shape of a 71st minute goal from Ian Taylor. Hendrie and Joachim combined for Taylor to beat Molina via a slight deflection off Daniel Prodin.

And, two minutes later, Collymore produced a goal of stunning quality, cutting in on the left, wrong-footing Juan Vizcaino and striking a right foot drive from 20 yards which beat Molina off the underside of the crossbar.

TEAMtalk Match Report

Villa bow out despite late comeback
Villa bowed out of the UEFA Cup on the away goals rule despite a battling second-half performance.
Manager John Gregory, who made one change to the line-up that lost in Spain two weeks previously, bringing Dwight Yorke in for Fernando Nelson, watched his side struggle against the Spanish outfit in the first 45 minutes.
The impressive Kiko was always a thorn in the side of the Villa rearguard and that showed when he broke free to try his luck on goal with just ten minutes on the clock.
The ball was in the back of net on 28 minutes through Caminero.
Again, Kiko was involved, picking up on a long ball from the Spaniards half and when his effort was parried by Bosnich, Caminero was on hand to ram the ball into the back of the net from just outside the area.
Julian Joachim, who recovered from a knee injury to take part, had caused some early flutters in the Spanish back four with his pace, but keeper Molina was never really troubled sufficiently enough.
Villa made a double substitution just five minutes into the second-half, bringing Collymore and Nelson on for Draper and Milosevic.
And their introduction seemed to breath new life into Villa.
A right-wing cross on 56 minutes found Dwight Yorke's head and the striker was unlucky to see his header crash against the bar.
But at the other end, the Spaniards kept the pressure on, craving up the Villa back-four to send Kiko away, but Staunton got back in time to thwart the little striker.
Vieri raced through into the Villa area minutes later but blasted the ball across the face of Bosnich's goal.
But it was time for Villa to take the game to the visitors and Collymore went close before the net was sent bulging by Taylor.
He crashed in a right-footed shot from the edge of the area on 72 and then Collymore followed suit a minute later, beating the outstretched hand of keeper Molina a second time to set up a pulsating finale.
But Villa ran out of breath to allow Atletico to join the cream of Europe in the next stages of the UEFA Cup.

SoccerNet Match Report

Aston Villa were dealt a devastating blow by Jose Luis Caminero in their attempt to reach the UEFA Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history.

The Spanish veteran deflated the English side with an early goal which proved decisive despite a fabulous late fightback from John Gregory's side.

Caminero, Spain's leading scorer in the 1994 World Cup Finals, profited as Mark Bosnich tried desperately to cut out a magnificent 35-yard through-ball from Kiko by dashing from his line. But the Villa goalkeeper's plunge at the feet of Carlos Aguilera caused the ball to spin to Caminero, who delivered the strike that put Atletico Madrid two goals ahead on aggregate and provided the away goal that left Villa needing to score three times to progress.

Gregory's men were suffering from a touch of Spanish tummy from the start. Atletico forced three corners in the opening three minutes and the tension around the ground could almost be touched as the Spanish club attempted to go for the jugular.

It was over four minutes before Villa managed to gain possession in their opponents' half. Kiko, normally employed as a partner to £12.5million Italy striker Christian Vieri, was dominant in the centre of the field for the visitors, ably assisted by Juan Vizcaino. Their tackling and control gave Atletico a strangle-hold and Mark Draper, Villa's peroxide blond who was hoping to have more fun, rarely got a chance to impose himself.

Madrid, like Villa, had never qualified for the last four of the competition. But they had scored seven goals in their previous away ties in the competition this season and had not lost a European match outside of their own Vicente Calderon stadium under coach Raddy Antic.

Vieri, who scored from a penalty in the Spanish capital a fortnight ago, was the player that Villa feared most but the English team, with Savo Milosevic playing despite Stan Collymore's return to fitness, discovered that Atletico had more than one string to their bow.

Milosevic, scorer of two goals in last Saturday's defeat of Crystal Palace, was rumoured earlier in the season to have signed a pre-contract agreement with Atletico but Villa invoked a one-year option to extend his contract.

Too often in a frustrating first half Milosevic proved too cumbersome.

Villa, who had struggling to score goals all season, managed only two shots in the first half and Ugo Ehiogu and Dwight Yorke's efforts troubled the spectators more than the goalkeeper.

Within two minutes of the restart, Milosevic rose to meet a cross from Draper but succeeded only in heading the ball over and 60 seconds later there was more frustration when Steve Staunton fed Draper, who delivered an angled through-ball for his midfield partner Ian Taylor.

He kept his head admirably with a finely-judged pass into the path of Julian Joachim but the diminutive forward hooked the ball wide of the goal in his anxiety as Taylor remonstrated with him over his lack of cool.

Atletico, however, were not prepared to sit back and Yugoslavia international Milinko Pantic sent more reverberations around the ground with a swerving free kick which a worried Bosnich forced around an upright.

In his last throw of the dice, manager Gregory replaced Milosevic and the disappointing Draper with Collymore and Fernando Nelson and Collymore, who had not played since being forced off with an ankle injury in the first leg, helped in the construction of a move which hinted at the amazing revival which Villa were about to mount. His pass to Lee Hendrie was diverted on to Alan Wright, whose cross was headed against the bar by Yorke.

Villa's fans had come to expect minor miracles in European competition this season, despite a fraught time in the Premiership, and they almost got another in the last 20 minutes.

Taylor gave his side hope by crashing home the equaliser on the night after 72 minutes with a low right-foot shot after Hendrie's cross had been touched back by Joachim.

Hendrie was also the provider for Villa's second goal just two minutes later, finding Collymore, who rounded his marker on the corner of the area and smashed a terrific effort in off the underside of the bar.

Hendrie was denied the goal that would have put Villa through by a fine diving save from Molina.