• Friendlies

Bent gets McLeish's Villa reign off to good start

ESPN staff
July 21, 2011
Shay Given organises his defence © Getty Images
Enlarge

Darren Bent scored twice as Aston Villa won 3-1 at Walsall on Thursday night in manager Alex McLeish's first match in charge.

The England striker turned in a pass from Emile Heskey for Villa's first and netted a second from close range after Richard Dunne headed on a corner, before Heskey made it 3-0 when Bent hit the post and the rebound fell his way.

Villa were cruising at half-time but could not add any further goals at the Banks's Stadium, and the final scorer was the home side's George Bowerman.

McLeish, who made the controversial switch from Birmingham last month, gave a debut to goalkeeper Shay Given after his arrival from Manchester City.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices