Aston Villa survived a fightback from Hull City to maintain their unbeaten start to the new Premier League season thanks to a 2-1 victory at Villa Park this afternoon.
The hosts dominated virtually the entire first half and they managed to find the back of the net on two occasions before the break.
After Fabian Delph had hit the post early on, Gabriel Agbonlahor broke the deadlock in the 14th minute when he inherited possession from Andreas Weimann, before going on to fire his shot beyond the reach of visiting goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
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Austrian attacker Weimann turned scorer as he got on the end of Kieran Richardson's cross to double his team's advantage from close range with 36 minutes played.
Villa continued to attack as the half drew to a close and they were inches away from scoring a third goal just before the whistle, as Ashley Westwood saw his curling effort strike the upright.
The start of the second half took on a similar pattern, with Villa creating the better of the chances. However, they were unable to extend their lead, which meant that Steve Bruce's visitors remained in contention.
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The goal that they needed to get back into the contest arrived in the 75th minute courtesy of striker Nikica Jelavic, who rose highest to send Robbie Brady's cross into the Villa net via home defender Aly Cissokho.
It prompted a large amount of pressure from the Tigers in the closing stages, but, after Paul McShane headed over from close range, their chances of claiming a share of the spoils were over.
Liam Apicella
