O'Leary: `We can hold our heads high again

Birmingham 0 Aston Villa 0

Villa had been accused by their supporters of lacking passion in the two clashes last season which Birmingham won without conceding a goal.

But Villa stifled the home side by stringing five players across the midfield in a game of few clear-cut openings.

O’Leary said: “I’ve seen videos of these games from last season and the players let themselves down. I wanted them to try and win back a bit of pride and make the fans proud.

“I think the fans have gone away a lot happier than last year and the players did themselves more justice although there were a few chances and the play was scrappy.

“I wanted to see what they were made of, see if they were up for the challenge and they got something out of the game which they deserved.

“It was important for them to take something from the match because a lot of things were said about them after the two games last season.

“There is a lot more hard work to be done at Villa but they’re trying to do their best and put the effort in.”

O’Leary played down the incident which caused a mini-fracas in the first half after David Dunn failed to kick the ball out of play to allow Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie have treatment.

He said: “I’m not going to make an issue of that. Credit to Ian Bennett for trying to kick the ball out. It then came to Dunn and play continued but it’s not an issue.”

Blues manager Steve Bruce admitted the game was not a great spectacle and quipped: “The one good thing is that we can now go and have our Sunday roast which will be more enjoyable than that.

“I think there was only one chance in the game and it was disappointing as a spectacle.

“Both teams were fully committed but I don’t think either team managed the occasion very well. Both teams were scared to lose, there was very little football played and we are disappointed in that.

“We knew that Villa were showing us the utmost respect when we saw the England centre-forward (Darius Vassell) on the left wing. They played one striker up front and came to make sure there was no repeat of last year’s result and they’ll be delighted with that.”

Bruce was pleased at the behaviour of both sets of supporters after the problems last season. He said: “There was no suggestion of trouble. Everyone behaved themselves and after what happened last year, that is the pleasing thing.

“It all went off without anything happening.”

BIRMINGHAM: Bennett, Clapham, Cunningham, Upson, Johnson (Tebily 79), Lazaridis (Cisse 77), Clemence, Savage, Dunn, Forssell, Dugarry (Morrison 77).

ASTON VILLA: Sorensen, Samuel, Johnsen, Mellberg, Delaney, Barry, Vassell, McCann, Hendrie (Whittingham 41), De la Cruz, Angel.

Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire).