UNOFFICIAL FORUM FOR THE ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Aston Villa continued their pre season with a loss to Irish side Bohemians at Dalymount Park in front of a crowd of just over 5,000.

Ashley Young started brightly and put the butterflies up Bohs goalkeeper O’Connor early as he chased down a back pass which saw the 'keeper forced to use some fancy footwork to get out of trouble.

Villa then pressed their advantage as Nigel Reo-Coker hit a stinging first time effort, forcing O’Connor to make a fine stop.

However, despite the early pressure from the Midlands side it was Bohemians who drew first blood after a rare error from Brad Friedel. The American’s miscued clearance fell to Powell who finished with a sweet lob for the opening goal after 23 minutes.

The problems nearly got worse for Villa but Friedel redeemed himself by making a strong stop to deny Jason Byrne who cut into the box after some sloppy defending and struck with a low left-footed shot.

Villa then began to take back control of the game after the half-hour mark. A terrific surge from Downing saw him cut the ball to Agbonlahor who controlled well and his left-footed shot narrowly missed the post.

The Bohs were slowly feeling the pressure from the Premier League outfit though and some ping-pong action in the Bohs' box from an Albrighton’s corner saw Clark get an initial header on goal only for Higgins to eventually head the ball off the line.

The second half saw the introductions of John Carew, Habib Beye and Carlos Cueller, replacing Lichaj, Clark and Agbonlahor.

Nigel Reo-Coker should have equalised for Villa after 60 minutes after Ashley Young battled his way through two tackles to chip it across from the by-line only for Reo-Coker to miss the header by inches.

The equaliser came after 69 minutes though after some great work from Albrighton saw him bamboozle Doherty on the left and cross for John Carew to head home the equaliser.

The same combination nearly resulted in Villa taking the lead five minutes later with Albrighton again cutting down the left and picking out Carew only for the big Norwegian to head wide this time.

Villa were then made to pay for their missed chances as Enzo turned Richard Dunne, exchanged passes with Madden who then ran clear to fire past a despairing Brad Friedel with ten minutes to go.

Villa offered little towards the end of the game, Albrighton still their best player but unable to find an equaliser.

Villa : Friedel, Lichaj (Cueller 45), Dunne, Clark (Beye 45), Shorey, Albrighton, Petrov (Hogg 78), Reo-Coker (Osbourne 65), Downing (Bannan 70), A Young, Agbonlahor (Carew 45).

Bohemians: O'Connor, Doherty (Dwane 90), Powell, Higgins, McGuinness, Oman (Haro 67), Quigley (Burke 83), Dempsey (Cronin 75), Greene (Brennan 45), Byrne, Dixon (Madden 45).