A SCINTILLATING, dynamic and utterly dominant display by Aston Villa propelled Martin O’Neill’s team into the Premier League’s top six and emphasised the club’s desire to secure European football next season.

Spearheaded by Ashley Young’s penetration and exquisite delivery, John Carew’s power and ability to create openings and by Gabriel Agbonlahor’s energy and hounding of the Reading defence, Villa’s victory could have been significantly more emphatic.

Their driving ambition was epitomised most conspicuously by Martin Laursen, the defender who was a tower at the back and a persistent danger any time he appeared in the Reading penalty area from set-pieces.

“The way that Ashley Young delivers the ball in, even I could score,” suggested the Aston Villa manager. “I love having people like Martin who show desire and courage to put their head in, mainly because I didn’t have an ounce of courage myself [as a player]. I thought that Ashley was immense, not just with his ability to go 60 yards and beat players but because of his ability to deliver free kicks and corner kicks and work back in the manner he does. He was fantastic, as was Agbonlahor, and a couple of others like John Carew were close behind.”

Steve Coppell’s point that his side lacked the physical element required to negate Villa’s collective strength was impossible to deny. He tried to suppress Agbonlahor by placing Ulises de la Cruz as a man-marker but the young striker had too much to be subdued, while the movement and passing of the players around him stretched Reading.

For the first 20 minutes Villa struggled to hit top gear and Reading’s fluid formation allowed for Stephen Hunt to support Kevin Doyle and Dave Kitson in attack. But Villa were able to penetrate the defence more frequently and to greater effect, with Young’s speed and Carew’s physical presence.

Villa raised the tempo. Young took a corner, the ball was half-cleared to Craig Gardner and he teed the ball up for Stiliyan Petrov, whose 20-yard drive forced a fine save from Marcus Hahnemann. When Villa drove forward at pace, Reading struggled to contain them. Young’s pass along the left flank to Agbonlahor culminated in a cross, intended for Gareth Barry, which was too close to Hahnemann. But Carew played a delightful ball through for Agbonlahor, who turned and reacted as if he had been held back when challenged by Brynjar Gunnarsson, but Uriah Rennie dismissed his penalty appeal.

Doyle might have scored when Hahnemann’s long clearance was headed towards his own goal by Wilfred Bouma and the striker’s fine touch took the ball around Curtis Davies. From the edge of the penalty area, he ought to have hit the target but his shot cleared the crossbar.

Within a minute Villa went ahead when Young’s in-swinging free kick from the left side was headed powerfully past Hahnemann by Carew. He shot into the side netting from an acute angle minutes later, before Reading almost stole a goal back.

Villa appeared to have cleared their lines, but Nicky Shorey’s pass to Kitson created an opening for the striker, who dragged his left-footed shot wide.

Hahnemann might have received a red card when he scythed through Agbonlahor just outside Reading’s penalty area shortly after the interval.

Another splendid delivery by Young from a corner kick prised open the visitors’ defence. Laursen attacked at the near post and headed past Hahnemann.

Laursen met another Young corner kick with a header which produced a fine save by Hahnemann before Reading rallied to a degree, a looping header by Kitson forcing Scott Carson to scoop the ball from beneath his crossbar. Kitson’s follow-up shot was deflected for a corner.

Carson made another good save from a near-post header by Gunnarsson off James Harper’s corner but Villa hit back strongly. From another corner by Young, Barry’s header went narrowly over before he just failed to connect with a Carew pass for what would have been a certain goal. Laursen headed narrowly wide from a corner hit deep by Barry and Hahnemann saved another shot by Carew at his near post.

The pressure told when Young attacked again on the left, played Agbonlahor through and the striker’s square ball to Carew left him with a simple tap-in. A goal in stoppage time by Harper, from Shane Long’s pass, was scant consolation for Reading. “Their first goal was offside, and their second, a terrific corner, should not have been a corner in the first place,” bemoaned Coppell. “When you’re giving away three or four inches in height at every set-piece, it’s not easy.” And not when Villa are in such rampant form.

Player ratings

Aston Villa: Carson 7, Gardner 7, Davies 7, Laursen 9, Bouma 6, Petrov 7, Reo-Coker 7, Barry 7, Young 8 (Maloney 90min), Agbonlahor 9 (Harewood 90min), Carew 9 (Salifou 90min)

Reading: Hahnemann 6, Murty 5, De la Cruz 5 (Convey 73min), Gunnarsson 6, Shorey 6, Ingimarsson 5, Hunt 6, Cisse 6, Harper 6, Doyle 6 (Long 89min), Kitson 5 (Lita 76min)

Star man: Martin Laursen (Aston Villa)
Scorers: Aston Villa: Carew 22, 88, Laursen 55. Reading: Harper 90

Referee: U Rennie
Attendance: 32,288