If Aston Villa fans are given this much help for the rest of their campaign, they should start to dream about winning the Uefa Cup in Istanbul in May. Martin O’Neill’s burgeoning team survived a sluggish start to prevail after Litex Lovech had two men sent off.

The second leg at Villa Park on October 2 should be a formality after goals from Nigel Reo-Coker, Gareth Barry, on his 400th appearance for Villa from the penalty spot, and Stiliyan Petrov, back in his homeland.

Yet the Bulgarian Cup winners stretched Villa and not even after the red cards did O’Neill relax. “Even with nine players, Lovech played very well,” the Villa manager said. “There was a bit of naivety about us and we’ve got loads to learn, but I’m delighted.”

The pitch at the tiny Gradski Stadium had been waterlogged 24 hours before kick-off and its heaviness was instrumental in proceedings yesterday. First, it made Villa seem heavy-legged, but then they were indebted to a spongy bounce that allowed ReoCoker to steal the ball off Uros Golubovic, the goalkeeper, to equalise with the last kick of the first half.

James Milner and Carlos Cuéllar gave strong performances on their debuts while Craig Gardner was added to bolster the midfield, with Barry given a free role. The unfamiliar formation prompted an unfamiliar showing from Villa. They went behind in the tenth minute, when Reo-Coker fouled Sandrinho, and from the free kick, Ivelin Popov curled in a cross-shot that Brad Friedel misjudged.

However, Villa rallied. Barry’s pass down the inside-left channel looked harmless until Golubovic hesitated and Reo-Coker nicked in. It was the reprieve that Villa required, and Litex imploded. Cedric Cambon was sent off for two bookings in three minutes, then Mihail Venkov was shown the red card for handling the ball on the line after Gabriel Agbonlahor’s header and Barry drove in the penalty.

The game was over as a contest and it was fitting that Petrov, a national hero in Bulgaria, should score the final goal, in stoppage time, clipping the ball home at the second attempt.

Litex Lovech (4-2-3-1): U Golubovic - S Manolev, C Cambon, P Nikolov, M Venkov - D Berberovic, Sandrinho - Tom (sub: E Angelov, 86), I Popov, Dudu (sub: A Barthe, 62) - W Niflore (sub: J Acedo, 75). Substitutes: T Todorov, Dubala, K Bibishkov, M Tsvetanov. Booked: Cambon. Sent off: Cambon, Venkov.

Aston Villa (4-4-1-1): B Friedel - L Young, C Cuellar, M Laursen, N Shorey - C Gardner (sub: M Harewood, 69), N Reo-Coker (sub: W Routledge, 75), S Petrov, J Milner - G Barry (sub: M Salifou, 79) - G Agbonlahor. Substitutes: B Guzan, N Delfouneso, Z Knight, I Osbourne. Booked: Petrov.