Delfouneso earns O'Neill praise

Delfouneso: O'Neill praise

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Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill paid a glowing tribute to youngster Nathan Delfouneso after he helped to sink Doncaster.

The teenage forward produced an excellent diving header to guide the Premier League side into the fifth round with a 3-1 victory in their fourth round replay at Villa Park.

Early goals from Steve Sidwell and John Carew put the home side in front before Jason Price pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.

Delfouneso, who was at fault for Rovers' goal, restored Villa's two-goal advantage in the 61st minute to book the home side's safe passage to the fifth round.

O'Neill said: "I'm absolutely delighted with Delfouneso. He gave away the ball for their goal, but outside that I thought he was exceptional.

"For one so young, he is a really, really good player in the making.

"We made some changes in the team because it's really important to see what we're capable of doing.

"We can't afford to carry anybody in the team, we just haven't got the ability to carry people, so everybody has to step up.

"John Carew got through 90 minutes which is great news for all of us."

Despite his obvious joy at progressing to the fifth round, O'Neill admitted that their Premier League campaign remains his top priority.

He added: "I love the FA Cup and I'm delighted we're in the fifth round. But if the Premier League is the Holy Grail, I suppose we have to be chasing that."

Improve

Rovers boss Sean O'Driscoll admitted his side lacked the quality of the Premier League side in crucial areas and insisted it was an area they must improve on if they are to avoid relegation from the Championship.

He said: "We are another team that maybe couldn't quite cope with their set-plays and counter-attacking, so there's no disgrace in that.

"What happens in both boxes determines what happens in games, so we've got to be better in both, but I thought our general play was excellent.

"We've got to improve in both boxes. The goals we gave away were not good ones for us, and the chances we've created have got to be better. If we could solve that in one go we wouldn't be in the Championship.

"Unfortunately, because of the way football is, the FA Cup is a distraction. It's a distraction for Martin, and it's a distraction for me as I've got a massive job on trying to stay in the Championship.

"We've got to try and take the positives out of it. Everybody wants to play in the FA Cup and play in a ground as iconic as Villa Park and do well.

"If I'd asked my players who doesn't want to play because Saturday is more important, I don't think I would have got too many volunteers."