Aston Villa 2 Rapid Vienna 1

And so we go crashing out of the Europa League at the first hurdle. I suspect that this may be a blessing in disguise as not being in the competition will mean our squad is not stretched and we're not jaded by travel. Of course, it also means a lot of the fringe players won't play as many games, so it could mean more unhappy campers come mid-season. Still, they've only themselves to blame.

It was all looking so good as well. Young was a constant menace in the first half and it was his run that led to the first of two penalties. Sadly, he decided to take it himself and his poorly hit shot to the keeper's right was easily saved. This seemed to galvanise Vienna and they continued to look a threat on the break, even after Milner converted the second penalty of the night.

A very quiet Carew gave Villa a 2-0 lead in the second half with a nice cut inside and finish at the near post, but from that point on, Vienna always looked the more likely to score and missed two clear cut chances before finally slotting the away goal that saw them through.

Dropped from the side that beat Liverpool were Sidwell, Reo Coker, and Agbonlahor, replaced with Delph, Heskey and Carew. The two big men up front were largely ineffective and offered little movement and didn't convince as a pair. Delph worked hard in midfield and showed moments of promise, but we sorely lacked the energy of Reo Coker. Though whether he would have been able to produce it so soon after the game at Anfield is open to debate.

Sadly, this game showed yet again that Petrov is too slow and cumbersome to compete at this level. He was repeatedly caught in no man's land and it was his mistake in midfield that led to Vienna's goal. He works hard but is clearly too pedestrian - he just hasn't got the pace and energy needed to compete in the role he has in the side.

Another sour note was Curtis Davis walking off in the second half with what looked like a dislocated shoulder - a problem that has been dogging him for some time.

On a positive note, Warnock has signed from Blackburn so should come in for Shorey and improve the left back slot and provide cover for left midfield and we have had bids agreed for Dunne from Man City and Distin from Portsmouth (though it looks like he is off to Everton). With Davies out injured, I expect Dunne to come straight in at Centre Back alongside Cuellar, who was suprisingly excellent again tonight.