The Pompey lineup was easily the strongest reserve team on paper seen for quite some time. Jamie Ashdown featured in goal, Andy O'Brien captained the side alongside Richard Duffy in the centre of defence with Marc Wilson and Frank Songo'o being forced to play in unfamiliar left and right full back roles respectively.
Ognjen Koroman played on the right of midfield and was joined by three new signings. Niko Kranjcar and Manuel Fernandes joined him in the centre of midfield whilst Douala started left of them. Up front was Lomana Tresor Lua Lua and new boy Andy Cole. Villa also fielded a strong side containing fringe first-team players Eric Djemba-Djemba, Peter Whittingham, new signing Didier Agathe as well as Pompey old boy Patrik Berger. First-teamers Wilfred Bouma and Milan Baros also played the full game alongside many of Villa's promising youth prospects.
It was an entertaining game where Villa started brighter and forced Jamie Ashdown into a few saves but Pompey got back into the game when Andy Cole missed a decent chance from a cross from the right. Villa took the lead when some slack defending allowed Isiah Osbourne to sprint into the box and pass to Baros who fired past Ashdown to give Villa the lead. Pompey had more chances when Cole missed another chance after another cross came from the right from Koroman but the 34 year-old fired over. Manuel Fernandes also had a powerful shot in the box blocked at the end of the half but Pompey went in at half time a goal behind.
It didn't take the home side long to equalise in the second half, even if the goal was very fortunate. Some good work by Douala down the left enabled him to get the ball to Niko Kranjcar who found the space to curl a shot towards goal. Stuart Taylor claimed, or at least he thought he had as the ball slipped through his hands and rolled over the line! Kranjcar will claim it but it was an extremely bad blunder by Taylor.
All the goal seemed to do was fire up Villa even more and they layed siege to Ashdown's goal, with Songo'o getting caught out time and time again by the pacey Baros and it was only a matter of time before a ball eventually got to the Czech international who turned and got away from the Pompey defence and slotted a second into the corner of the net for Villa to regain the lead. Pompey continued to try and find an equaliser by using Koroman and Douala on the wings but any move they conjured up never managed to get finished in the box. Kranjcar went close via a free kick but the game petered out after Fernandes was substituted and Villa ended up winning the game and nobody could complain because they deserved it.
I'm not bothered by the result obviously. I mean lets face it, Songo'o and Wilson are never full backs and half of these players have never played a game in England, let alone for Pompey. Villa reserves on the other hand have played together for a while on this evidence, not to mention having a world-class striker up front on his day. Baros was definately the best player on the pitch and could have easily had a hat-trick.
Tonight was all about individual players' performances and getting match fit. I was particularly impressed by Songo'o in the first half. He is starting to win me over and could well have a future at Premiership level, especially considering he is so young and did well in an unfamiliar position for 45 minutes until Baros made a mug of him in the second half. Richard Duffy also put in a decent effort over the course of the game.
As for the new guys, I was particularly happy with the performance of Niko Kranjcar. He showed some good skill on the ball, he had a good range of passing, he can take a decent free kick and the effort he put in when tracking back and trying to win the ball will do well to dispel suggestions from Croatian fans that he's lazy and overweight. I think Kranjcar could be a fan favourite in time at Fratton Park.
Manuel Fernandes didn't have a bad game considering he is still getting match practice. I agree with Harry Redknapp that he will fit into the Premier League style with ease because he has the natural attributes to be a success at the highest level. He was like a whippet at times when trying to win the ball. He's quick, box-to-box and has technique but my only worry is the question over how physical he can be, as Djemba-Djemba managed to hold him off at times tonight. He still did enough to impress me during the game though and I'm sure there's more to come from him.
Rudolphe Douala showed he had a lot of pace and made himself useful in the channels, he managed to get behind the Villa defence on occasion however his final ball is still questionable. He's a similar player to Lua Lua with pace to burn and some tricks but he managed to keep the ball well at times when being harried by defenders. Andy Cole obviously still needs to find his match sharpness after missing a couple of guilt-edge chances in the first half and being virtually anonymous in the second half.
As for the other players, O'Brien was average, Koroman looked good at times but needs to up the tempo of his play otherwise he will get closed down too quickly. Lua Lua tried to do too much on his own tonight but came up with the odd defence baffling trick now and again.
In summary, I thought Kranjcar was the most impressive of our new faces and Douala and Fernandes had their uses. Cole still needs to find his fitness and match sharpness. It was nice to see Berger play some football after an injury that seems to have kept him out forever but Baros was the star of the show tonight and if Martin O'Neill can get the best out of him then Villa will be a force to be reckoned with.
As for ourselves, it wouldnt surprise me to see Douala and Kranjcar play a part in Saturday's game against Charlton as they look ready for the Premiership.