Villa’s big gain from Smalling brief lapse

ALEX FERGUSON is as shrewd a dealmaker as he is a manager, so he must have been happy as he checked out part of his investment portfolio in London on Saturday, before heading to the Emirates to take on Arsenal.

The Manchester United manager was at Craven Cottage to watch Chris Smalling, the young central defender for whom Fergie has agreed to pay £10m but allowed to stay at Fulham for the rest of the season.

Smalling is full of raw promise, having played only a handful of games for Fulham and before that just a dozen matches for non-league Maidstone Utd. So it was no surprise that he will make the odd mistake at the rarified level of the Premier League.

He got caught out just once in an otherwise solid display – and it cost Fulham dearly. When Stilyian Petrov crossed from the right in the 40th minute, Smalling should have headed clear but the more experienced Gabriel Agbonlahor nudged him enough to get across and direct a header past Mark Schwarzer. That opening goal was followed four minutes by another from the Villa striker, his 12th of the season, when Brede Hangeland’s error allowed Agbonlahor to turn and shoot past Schwarzer and seal all three points.

Yet Fergie will not have been upset by Smalling’s lapse. He knows it is better to make mistakes in someone else’s colours, and he can gain invaluable experience away from the glare of Old Trafford. As Roy Hodgson, who reluctantly sold Smalling, said: “Every game he plays for us he will be learning the hard way, and learning enormously. You can’t reproduce that experience. The only way you can get it is by getting out there, and possibly by making mistakes, so you can learn.

“He’s played against Spurs and Villa and his performances were good in both games. He was favourite for the header but Agbonlahor cleverly nudged him off the ball, so he will learn from that. Otherwise his positional play, heading, passing and composure were all good.

“Alex would have been quite pleased. I know he thinks highly of the player and would have been impressed with his composure.”

Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, was pleased to end a run of four league games without a goal and a win, and praised the maturity of Agbonlahor. “He holds the ball up for the team and is improving in that respect, but like any striker he wants to score a few more goals. If you’re static in the box, chances can go begging, but we have players who can deliver a great ball, and he has realised that by stepping in front of people he’s got the ability and strength to hold them off.

“Today will be a major confidence booster. The second goal came as a result of the confidence he gained from the first. He knows how important he is to us. He knows the team are delighted with him, and I am too, so he should get enough confidence from that.”

Hodgson is concerned that his side is on the slide after five straight league defeats, and admitted: “We are having to play square pegs in round holes, but we must keep plugging away and hope it turns around.”

Match rating: ** – Not one for the purist, neither side seemed able or willing to get the ball down and play.The two goals were moments of rare quality.

Referee: Lee Mason (Bolton) 4/5 – Kept the game flowing and only had to produce two yellow cards, one when Emile Heskey just would not accept a decision. Got the one debatable decision correct, ruling David Elm offside when the Fulham striker put the ball in Villa’s net late in the game.