Emile Heskey and Steve Sidwell struck to earn Aston Villa a 3-1 win over Feyenoord in the Guadiana Cup.
Second-half goals from Heskey and Sidwell prove decisive
Substitutes Emile Heskey and Steve Sidwell struck to earn Aston Villa a 3-1 victory over Feyenoord in the Guadiana Cup.
The Villa duo came off the bench in Portugal to score inside the final 20 minutes after Marc Albrighton's early goal had been cancelled out by Luc Castaignos.
Villa were in front inside the opening five minutes when Albrighton, who has impressed in pre-season, scored via a 25-yard scorcher.
However, the lead was short-lived as Feyenoord equalised less than 10 minutes later when Castaignos turned home at the far post.
Feyenoord came close to heading into half-time in front, but the highly-rated Georginio Wijnaldum saw his effort strike the post.
Martin O'Neill made five changes at the break to freshen up his team and then saw Ashley Young's free-kick turned away by the Feyenoord keeper.
In a tight contest, Dutch outfit Feyenoord had a golden opportunity to go in front only for Kelvin Leerdam to fail to beat Villa keeper Brad Guzan.
Villa got their noses back in front 20 minutes from time through Heskey and then made sure of victory thanks to Sidwell's cracking 35-yard effort.
Manchester City target James Milner was not in the squad for the game, but the midfielder is expected to be involved in Sunday's match against Benfica.
Following the final whistle a penalty shoot-out was staged, a rule of the Guadiana Cup, and the two sides could not be seperated as they finished 4-4.
