VILLA boss John Gregory was involved in an amazing touchline bust-up with an angry fan as his in-form side stayed on course for a UEFA Cup place. As Wednesday slipped to their first home defeat in more than four months, the irate supporter pushed his way past a linesman and stood a yard away from Gregory, yelling abuse punctuated by jabs of his finger. Gregory wasn't attacked, but the fan had plenty of time to do so before stewards and police arrived to pull him away. Goals from Dwight Yorke, Lee Hendrie and Julian Joachim, which keep the Midlanders on the brink of a return to European action, were the perfect reply to such an idiot. Woeful Wednesday looked like what they were - a side with nothing to play for, while rejuvenated Villa gave an emphatic warning of what they might be capable of in a full season under a manager who has led them to eight wins in ten games since taking charge. The visitors played some excellent football as they stroked the ball around, staying patient and waiting for the openings to appear. It took 21 minutes for the home defence to crack. Portuguese full-back Fernando Nelson shoulder-charged his England counterpart Andy Hinchcliffe off the ball on the right and, as the Owls defender appealed to the linesman for a foul, whipped in a curling cross for Yorke to sidefoot home his 15th goal of the season. Four minutes later, the advantage was doubled. Wednesday's Brazilian defender Emerson Thome appeared to have done the hard part by dispossessing Yorke just outside the area, but then gave the ball away. Yorke quickly fed Joachim, whose first-time lay-off found Hendrie sprinting round the back of the defence and he beat Kevin Pressman from 10 yards. There was no let-up after the interval, and the visitors went 3-0 up in the 50th minute. England Under-18 international Gareth Barry - who came on for his first-team debut just seconds earlier for Ian Taylor - played an important part, providing a simple pass for Yorke to touch on to Joachim and the striker beat Pressman from six yards. Paolo Di Canio earned a sarcastic standing ovation in the 64th minute when he fired in Wednesday's first shot of the afternoon. Italian teenager Francesco Sanetti, a halftime substitute who was signed from Genoa on deadline day but wasn't given international clearance until Friday, restored some pride in the 89th minute. His spectacular curling left-foot shot showed he could be one for the future, but it was much too little, too late on Saturday. SHEFF WED: Pressman, Atherton, Pembridge (Sanetti 46), Walker, Carbone, Di Canio, Hyde, Stefanovic, Hinchcliffe, Thome (Whittingham 35), Barrett (Magilton 72) Subs Not Used: Briscoe, Clarke Booked: Stefanovic ASTON VILLA: Oakes, Southgate, Ehiogu, Taylor (Barry 49), Draper, Yorke, Joachim, Wright, Nelson, Grayson, Hendrie Subs Not Used: Milosevic, Collymore, Byfield, Rachel Booked: Draper Att: 34,177 Ref: M J Bodenham (East Looe)

BENALI OFF FOR SNOOZING SAINTS Southampton 0 Derby County 2   SOUTHAMPTON defender Francis Benali was sent off for the 11th time in his career as Derby bounced back from two defeats in a week to take maximum points at the Dell. Leeds referee Mike Riley flashed the red card for retaliation after Benali had been fouled by Derby striker Dean Sturridge, who was also booked. Riley cautioned five players for the visitors and also yellow-carded Southampton's Matthew Le Tissier in a match which threatened to boil over on several occasions. The fiery second half came as a shock after exactly the sort of half-hearted first 45 minutes you'd expect from an end-of-season affair between two sides with no interest in relegation or Europe. The biggest talking point came in the 28th minute, when the home side seemed to have a good shout for a penalty after goalkeeper Mart Poom appeared to bring Carlton Palmer down but Riley wasn't impressed. Derby's Christian Dailly finally opened the scoring on 50 minutes. Gary Rowett took a corner on the right and as goalkeeper Paul Jones dithered, Dailly headed against the bar and buried the rebound. Benali's dismissal five minutes later led to fraying tempers and a flurry of name-taking before hostilities ended and football broke out again. Derby were often under heavy pressure, but with Le Tissier showing little of the form that has put him back in World Cup contention, Poom didn't have a genuine save to make all match. In fact, the away side looked most likely to score and their second goal came as a result of a Jones howler in the 88th minute. The Wales goalkeeper, named the fans' Player Of The Year before the game, had plenty of time to clear a Jason Dodd backpass but whacked it straight into Sturridge and watched in horror as the back trickled over the line. Saints boss Dave Jones sent on substitutes Steve Basham and Andy Williams in the hope of a stirring fightback, but Derby easily hung on for their fourth away win of the season. SOUTHAMPTON: Jones, Dodd, Benali, Palmer, Monkou, Lundekvam, Le Tissier, Oakley, Hirst (Basham 69), Ostenstad, Gibbens (Williams 78) Subs Not Used: Richardson, Warner, Moss. Sent Off: Benali (55) Booked: Le Tissier DERBY: Poom, Delap, Kozluk (Powell 66), Rowett, Dailly, Laursen, Carsley, Solis (Van Der Laan 66), Bohinen, Wanchope (Burton 82), Sturridge Subs Not Used: Elliot, Hoult Booked: Carsley, Laursen, Sturridge, Kozluk, Wanchope Att: 15,202 Ref: MA Riley (Leeds)

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