Young strike sends Villa through

8:28am Sunday 27th July 2008

Ashley Young's second-half thunderbolt eased Aston Villa into the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 (3-2 aggregate) Intertoto Cup triumph over Odense as Gareth Barry made his return.

An awful-looking injury to Wilfred Bouma heralded Barry's introduction from the bench after just 15 minutes.

But, rather than the nasty reception some had feared, the England international was cheered every time he touched the ball, fuelling a belief he may stay at Villa rather than leave for Liverpool as Martin O'Neill fears.

The make-up of the Intertoto competition meant the midlands side were facing a tougher test than they could expect to face in the UEFA Cup if they got through and Odense did not disappoint.

Early on it was immediately obvious Dutchman Bouma had suffered a major problem as he flew into a tackle with Baye Djiby Fall.

As he held his right leg in the air, his foot was skewed horribly, in a similar manner to injuries which Alan Smith and more recently, Arsenal's Eduardo have suffered.

Early indications are that Bouma has suffered a dislocation rather than a break but Villa will want to check for ligament damage as well before stating how long they expect the midfielder to be out.

Villa create a succession of half-chances, with the pace of Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor causing Odense problems. But it was not until the second half that the hosts finally got into their stride.

Young sprinted for the Odense box, then unleashed a powerful shot which flew into the top corner before Arek Onyszko had a chance to move. The goal relieved growing tension and suddenly Villa were alive.

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