Aston Villa grabbed a slender 1-0 away victory over relegation strugglers Sunderland in the Premier League this afternoon, thanks to a first-half goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor.
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Emanuele Giaccherini created the game's first chance as he let fly with a right-footed shot from outside the box, but his effort flew wide of the post.
Sunderland were almost in again as they dominated the opening stages, this time as Ji Dong-Won was found by Giaccherini, though the striker's shot edged just wide from a difficult angle.
However, despite their lack of possession, Villa took the lead through Agbonlahor in the 15th minute when he found himself with space inside the box, allowing the striker to hammer the ball down the centre of goal with his left foot.
Sunderland's fans thought they had equalised in the 26th minute as Phillip Bardsley played in Ki Sung-Yueng, but his long-range effort was kept out of the top corner by a fine save from the diving Brad Guzan.
Villa came out of the traps quickest in the second half as Ashley Westwood played in first-half scorer Agbonlahor, who saw his shot blocked on its way to goal.
Having failed to break down Villa after the interval, Sunderland tried to post more efforts from range and Ki almost got lucky as his shot veered a little too far to the left.
The hosts' best chance looked like it might come from a piece of inspiration and Giaccherini almost delivered, but his effort from distance rose beyond the bar despite looking headed for the net.
Villa almost put the game to bed through link-up play between Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke, but the Belgian striker's effort was kept out by good defensive work from Sunderland.
Sunderland's lack of cutting edge continued as they were forced to take aim from range, with Fabio Borini's late effort almost causing some trouble, but it was kept away from goal following a neat block to leave the final score at 1-0.
Christopher Dodd
