Striker Garry Thompson was part of the last Albion side to beat Villa in 1985. He takes a trip down memory lane with Baggies correspondent Steve Madeley.

Come wind, rain or even snow, Garry Thompson had a habit of scoring against his Villa heroes for Albion.

The all-action striker would eventually play 60 times for Villa, but not before becoming a regular thorn in the side of the club that he supported as a lad.

Albion struggled to find the winning touch against their neighbours but it was not for the want of trying on the part of Thompson, who scored three times in five appearances in the fixture.

Now Thompson, who was on duty for Albion the last time they defeated Villa, is backing Martin O’Neill’s men to prolong their 23-year unbeaten run against their rivals from the Sandwell border.

He recalled: “There was always a special atmosphere whenever Albion played Villa, because we were both big clubs.

“The one that sticks in my mind and the one that most Albion fans will still talk about, was the one at the Hawthorns in the winter of 1984 when we were 1-0 down with a few minutes to go.

“The snow came down and the game changed. We scored three times late on to win 3-1. I scored twice and Cyrille Regis got the other one. The game and the ending is one that I will never forget.”

In fact there was little more than five minutes remaining when Thompson drew Albion level, before he and Regis bagged the goals that wrote that icy afternoon into the annuls of Baggies history.

The thrilling finish to that Hawthorns encounter should have come as little surprise to supporters of either side, bearing in mind the classic that the sides had produced on the opening day of the same season.

It was the featured game on the first ‘Match of the Day’ of the new season and Villa won a game of high drama 4-3 at Villa Park despite Romeo Zondervan, Thompson and Regis finding the net for Albion.

Fifteen months and a 3-1 Villa Park defeat later, Thompson would play as little-known Canadian international Carl Valentine scored the only goal in a 1-0 Albion win.

None of the Baggies players on duty that day could have predicted that more than two decades later Albion would not have beaten Villa again.

Their latest chance comes on Sunday, but Thompson believes Villa’s dominance is likely to continue.

The 48-year-old said: “It’s great to see Albion back in the Premier League and I am not one of the people who believes it will be for one season only.

“I think the way they play gives them a great chance of staying in the division this year and I believe they will do it.

“They were comfortably the best side in the Championship last season and they are the best equipped of the three promoted sides to do well in the Premier League.

“In my view any team that goes out and plays attacking football give themselves a great chance of winning enough matches to stay up.

“It’s true that they also leave themselves open to be beaten heavily at times as well. I’m sure that will happen to Albion on a couple of occasions this season.

“By playing the way they do they are giving themselves the best chance of staying up.

“Teams that set out just to defend normally concede goals anyway against good sides. Then they don’t have any way of scoring themselves.”

Thompson will be back at The Hawthorns on Sunday, entertaining fans in the corporate seats with tales of his playing days.

He will take his seat to watch two of his former clubs do battle and take a first-hand look, at a Villa side whose progress he has admired from afar.

He said: “I think Martin O’Neill has done an absolutely brilliant job after the David O’Leary years, when as a club Villa kept talking themselves down and the fans’ expectations got lowered.

“We kept hearing that Villa weren’t a big club and that we couldn’t ever be a big club and even some of the fans started to believe it.

“But it was wrong. Villa are a big club, not just in the Midlands but nationally.

“Martin has done tremendously to bring in people like John Carew and Ashley Young, even though they didn’t set the world on fire to start with last year.

“They needed a settling-in period but now that’s happened the team are moving forwards all the time.

“Martin has done an unbelievable job and brought back those old expectations.”

Thompson will forever be bound emotionally to both clubs, so much so he still has no idea which way his heart will lean when Sunday’s noon showdown kicks off.

He said: “Villa were the team I supported as a lad and the first game I ever watched was a Villa game. I achieved my ambition of playing for my club later on in my career and I will always be grateful for that opportunity.

“The first club I went to as a player was Coventry and I have fantastic memories from there too so I still follow them very closely.

“I always say the most enjoyable time I had as a player was at Albion. Back then everybody wanted to play for Albion, because they were such a glamourous club and they played some of the best football in the country with players like Bryan Robson and ‘the three degrees’.

“So when the chance came to play for them I couldn’t believe it. I will be torn on Sunday but, while my heart can’t decide, my head would have to go for Villa.

“They are such a great counter-attacking team and the way Albion play can leave gaps for them to be hit on the break.

“That contrast in styles should also make for a great game. I certainly hope so.”