Wanderers keep their cool

After five frustrating attempts in league and cup, the multi-million pound team has still to grace the £35million stadium with a win and they have yet to score a Premiership goal there from open play.

The latest setback - Saturday's defeat by Villa - added to the anxieties but it also served to fire the determination to ensure that the house-warming is just around the corner.

"There's no psychological barrier at all," goalkeeper Keith Branagan insisted while Gudni Bergsson played down talk of a 'hoodoo' with a practical, if understandably impatient assessment. "It's something we want to change as soon as possible," the captain acknowledged, "preferably in the next game.

"I'm not worried about it. Burnden was a very good ground for us last season but we've also played well here and been quite unfortunate not to get a win.

"The ground is fantastic. It's not a problem for us playing here."

Colin Todd admits to just "a little bit of concern" but says assuringly: "It's nothing that can't be put right."

Nevertheless, players and fans won't be happy until they break their duck and the "Home Sweet Home" sign won't go up until they sharpen the cutting edge - their one failing as they lost their first home league game since Ipswich Town's shock Burnden win on December 14 last year.

That was the Nationwide League. Nothing has changed in the Premiership, which is still cruel and unforgiving on teams who don't possess the ruthlessness it demands.

Take as much of the ball as you want and play as well as you can but, if you don't make it count, you won't win games. Make a mistake and you're dead.

Wanderers know the score from their last, bitter experience of top flight football and they are still suffering.

But this time it's different. This time they are better equipped with better players and an unshakeable spirit.

The defeat by Villa was typical of that mercilessly cruel formula. Savo Milosevic climbed above Andy Todd to head home Fernando Nelson's right wing cross in the 12th minute and that was it.

But as the otherwise redundant Branagan summed up: "One chance, one goal and you're dead and buried."

Memories of some of the sad events of 95-96. The Wanderers keeper acknowledged the similarity but sees a much different picture second time round.

"It happened two years ago but it won't happen this time," he insisted.

"We've got good players to come back and we've got quality players already in the side. We're still together and still very confident. "We're just disappointed we didn't make our pressure tell. We created enough chances to have got back into the game but it was just one of those days when we couldn't get the ball in the net."

If only his team-mates had matched the power of Andy Todd's right hook, Wanderers would have won by a knockout.

"At least we won the fight!" was how one Wanderers fan consoled himself with his verdict on the manager's son's injury-time bout with Stan Collymore.

Both were rightly sent off. Referee Graham Poll had no alternative after seeing opponents standing toe to toe and trading blows.

They'd had a couple of earlier tussles but the flashpoint came when Todd pulled Collymore's sleeve. The Villa man spun round, lashed out and the bell sounded for a bare-knuckle contest that had only one acceptable outcome.

Bergsson, who was hit in the crossfire as he tried to separate the combatants, explained: "Andy claimed Collymore hit him in the face with his elbow. I'm not in a position to judge whether it was intentional but it infuriated Andy.

"Both of them lost a bit of control but players are giving 100 per cent and feelings are running high."

The game's two memorable incidents reflected harshly on young Todd who otherwise had an impressive game alongside Gerry Taggart at the heart of the Wanderers defence.

Villa's £10 million strike partners Milosevic and Collymore were restricted to a chance apiece - the Yugoslav making his count while the England man added to his catalogue of confidence-sapping howlers by missing the target from eight yards.

Meanwhile Wanderers enjoyed the vast majority of the play.

Although they gave the ball away too often for their own good, they held the upper hand in midfield, where Alan Thompson was the most creative force on either side and Per Frandsen and Scott Sellars made telling contributions. Peter Beardsley, accommodated in a formation that meant no place for Jamie Pollock, looked more comfortable in his characteristic role just behind the front two and eclipsed Dwight Yorke, who occupied a similar position for Villa. But for all their efforts, there was little for John McGinlay and new record-signing Dean Holdsworth to get their teeth into and when the service was up to scratch they just couldn't hit it off - neither getting anywhere near Sellars' inviting cross then both arriving at the near post when Mike Whitlow aimed his centre to the back!

Despite having two vastly experienced strikers in harness with Beardsley in support, Wanderers sorely missed the power and persistence of Nathan Blake, who was starting a three-match ban for his spat with Gary Pallister a fortnight earlier.

Yet they had their moments. Mark Bosnich made a spectacular second minute save to prevent Thompson's 25-yarder screaming into the top corner and similarly denied Frandsen on the half-hour after Steve Staunton and Gareth Southgate luckily survived clearances that hit Thompson and Holdsworth respectively and cannoned to safety.

The new striker will be disappointed not to have celebrated his debut with a better result. But he produced flashes of the strength and skill that persuaded Todd to pay Wimbledon £3.5 million for his services.

Holdsworth proved an effective 'route one' outlet in the first half when he collected Branagan's long clearance before linking with Sellars to put the Villa defence on the back foot. And he won a second-half tussle with Ugo Ehiogu to volley a Beardsley cross narrowly wide of Bosnich's left hand post.

He might have laid on an equaliser for McGinlay too but the Scot couldn't reach his deep cross.

"I can't fault the players for the manner in which they played," Todd said. "We just need to be a bit quicker and more incisive.

"It's a very thin dividing line between winning, drawing and losing and I felt we did enough to have actually won the game. You can't be despondent when we can play as well as we did on Saturday.

"If we keep performing like that it will turn for us. Players are disappointed that we haven't been winning games but there is no need for their heads to go down. They've acquitted themselves well."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.