Villa outfoxed by struggling Leicester

CHAMPIONSHIP strugglers Leicester dumped former manager Martin O’Neill’s Aston Villa out of the Carling Cup thanks to a second-half goal from Matt Fryatt.

O’Neill was on the receiving end of the kind of cup shock he handed out to more illustrious opponents during his five years with the Foxes when he twice won the competition.

Former Walsall striker Fryatt settled the issue with a shot from a narrow angle with 16 minutes remaining of the third-round clash.

It was a huge tonic for new boss Gary Megson who had been on the receiving end of criticism from some Leicester fans after the departure of Martin Allen.

For Villa, it was a massive turnaround in fortunes barely three weeks after they overcome Chelsea in the Barclays Premier League.

O’Neill had made six changes from the side which defeated Manchester City at the weekend although they still fielded a starting XI which should have been strong enough to overcome a side lying 21st in the Championship.

But the Villa faithful were silenced with 16 minutes remaining when Leicester broke the deadlock. James Chambers played the ball into Fryatt on the left side of the Villa box and he somehow squeezed his low shot past Taylor into the far corner of the net.

Maloney came closest to snatching an equaliser with a shot turned around the post by Fulop.

ASTON VILLA: Taylor, Mellberg, Davies (Berger 80), Knight, Barry, Petrov, Osbourne (Young 71), Reo-Coker, Maloney, Harewood (Moore 77), Agbonlahor.

LEICESTER: Fulop, N’Gotty, McAuley, Kisnorbo, Chambers, Clemence, Kishishev (Maybury 67), Stearman, Mattock, Hume (Campbell 63), Fryatt (Kenton 82).