Wednesday shock Villa as cup run continues

A 40th minute strike at Villa Park from early substitute Efan Ekoku ensured Wednesday's name will be in the hat for the Quarter-Final draw of this season's Worthington League Cup. Aston Villa boss John Gregory was left shocked that a side six places off the bottom of Division One had managed to hold out his 5th placed Premier League outfit, and tarnish a proud home record this season.

The Owls, who reached the same stage of the competition last season, will be itching to try and reach the later stages of a competition which offers the glamour of a UEFA Cup spot. But Wednesday boss Terry Yorath has announced his intentions to keep his feet firmly on the ground, saying he doesn't expect Wednesday to follow in the footsteps of Birmingham City and reach the Final.

The victory however was marred by the terrible injury to Wednesday's influential young midfielder Alan Quinn. He fell heavily onto his shoulder shortly before the half-hour mark and was immediately rushed to hospital. It was reported after the game that the Irishman will be out until the New Year now. Wednesday have now gone some 360 minutes without having conceded a goal. The last time a Wednesday defence held out strong for four consecutive games was five seasons ago during the 1996/97 season under David Pleat's reign.

This win must surely go down as the performance of the season by the Owls, and it was marked by Efan Ekoku's fourth goal of the season and his second in as many games since returning from injury.

This report from the BBC Football website:

Sheffield Wednesday substitute Efan Ekoku scored the goal that dumped Aston Villa out of the Worthington Cup. Ekoku sent the Owls through to the quarter-finals with a cool finish after 40 minutes. Villa manager John Gregory made five changes from the side which had drawn with Leeds on Sunday, with Darius Vassell, Juan Pablo Angel, Paul Merson, Alan Wright and George Boateng all rested.

His side struggled to move out of second gear against a determined visiting side who restricted Villa to only a handful of chances. Dion Dublin missed two golden headed opportunities for Villa when it seemed easier to score. Wednesday goal Simon Donnelly impressed for Wednesday, first in attack and then when the arrival of Ekoku meant he dropped into a deeper role.

Gerald Sibon, who had been involved in the collision which saw Dublin suffer his injury in December 1999, also worked tirelessly in attack. Villa did most of the pressing in the early stages but it was 22 minutes before Owls goalkeeper Kevin Pressman was called into meaningful action, pulling off a fine save at full stretch from Bosko Balaban.

Villa now started to look more menacing and Mustapha Hadji was only just wide with a low 20-yard drive after he had cut in from the right flank. But five minutes before the interval the visitors went ahead at a time when Villa were down to 10 men after Hadji had limped off after falling awkwardly on his knee getting in a far-post header. Gerald Sibon and Simon Donnelly combined to let in Ekoku, who came on for Alan Quinn after 27 minutes.

Half-time: Villa 0-1 Owls

The Nigerian international, who had been out injured for nine weeks, raced clear of the Villa defence and coolly planted the ball past Peter Schmeichel. Gregory brought on David Ginola at the start of the second period in the hope he could provide the spark of magic that would bring his side back into the game. One early run by the Frenchman ended with Leigh Bromby being booked for hauling him down in