Villa claim Ajax triumph

Gareth Barry gave Aston Villa the ideal start to life in a bitterly tough group stage of this season's UEFA Cup as they beat Ajax 2-1.

With tricky trips to Hamburg and Slavia Prague to come in Group F, boss Martin O'Neill came into the competition aware his side could ill afford to drop points against the Dutch giants at Villa Park.

And they secured a convincing victory, with Barry's winner coming on the stroke of half-time after Thomas Vermaelen had cancelled out skipper Martin Laursen's early opener.

Laursen silenced Ajax's travelling army, who had been singing from the moment the opening whistle sounded.

But from the first corner of the game in the eighth minute, Ashley Young delivered a piercing ball into the heart of the area.

Third-string goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, with Marco van Basten's first choices both injured, never looked like he had a hope of claiming the ball. With Vermeer flapping, it allowed Laursen to comfortably steal in front and from six yards nod into an empty net for his fourth goal of the season, but first for two months.

Although Villa pressed and harried their illustrious opponents, 29-times winners of the Eredivisie and four-times European Cup winners, it was Ajax who managed to draw level in the 22nd minute.

Villa's marking was poor as Urby Emanuelson whipped an incisive corner to the edge of the six-yard box where Vermaelen thundered a header into the roof of the net.

But Villa regained the lead as Ashley Young managed to steer a cross into the area which centre-back Oleguer Presas Renom could only touch on to the lurking Barry.

With his trusty left foot, Barry connected with a first-time shot that curled its way into the bottom left-hand corner for his third goal this season, all of which have come in this competition.