No pardon for Pardew as Villa triumph

Alan Pardew sampled his finest hour as a player at Villa Park - but his spirited Reading side could not use the same stage to grab their moment of glory.

The Royals' manager scored the winning goal in the epic 1990 FA Cup semi-final for Crystal Palace against Liverpool, but victory last night proved just out of reach.

A Dion Dublin header in first-half injury-time sank the Second Division side, who had given their illustrious hosts a few scares. The former England striker reacted quickly to nod in his third goal of the season after David Ginola's 45th-minute corner was prodded back across the six-yard box by Hassan Kachloul. Dublin's strike ensured John Gregory would not be left counting the cost of under-estimating his opposition for a second time this season as he sent a full-strength Villa side on their way into the last 16.

The Villa boss had left himself open to criticism by rotating his squad for the UEFA Cup clash against Varteks which ended in surprise defeat.

A training injury to Darius Vassell ruled him out of the starting line-up and Ginola took his place in the only change to the team that defeated Blackburn in the Premiership 11 days previously.

From the start Tony Rougier, denied an early penalty by referee Matt Messias, caused Villa problems with his pace. But in the 24th minute, under a challenge from Mark Delaney, he accidentally caught the Wales defender on the back of the head. Delaney lay prostrate for five minutes before being taken off with his head in a neck brace.

Dublin came on in his place as Gregory shuffled the pack by switching Moustapha Hadji into defence.

Veteran goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel twice saw efforts from the visitors seriously threaten his goal. In the first half Nicky Forster galloped down the right and his cross-shot flashed inches wide. Schmeichel was then forced into acrobatic action 13 minutes after the interval when he reacted quickly to tip over James Harper's header. Kachloul missed a simple chance to put the tie beyond doubt and Villa were then forced to hang on in the dying stages.