Villa reserves are champions
Michael Drennan scored twice as Villa secured the Barclays Reserve League South championship with a comfortable victory at Sunderland.
Michael Drennan scored twice as Villa secured the Barclays Reserve League South championship with a comfortable victory at Sunderland.
Victory for the claret and blues at the Academy of Light and a 2-1 defeat for Albion at Liverpool meant Kevin MacDonald's team sealed a fourth title success in five years.
Villa will now advance to national play-off final against the winners of the northern section. It took just 11 minutes for the visitors to make their mark on the clash with Drennan expertly finishing a neat team move.
Jordan Graham played a pass infield to skipper Daniel Johnson, who controlled and then picked out Drennan in the box.
The man from Kilkenny latched on to Johnson's through ball before tucking past Ben Wilson in the Sunderland goal.
It was left to Drennan to score the title-clinching goal.
He capitalised on a mix-up at the back between Wilson and Liam Bagnall and, after gaining control of the ball, the 18-year-old drilled a low shot into the bottom corner.
Villa have wrapped up the league title with one game of the regular league season still to play. The second string complete their fixtures in the southern section with a clash against Fulham at Motspur Park on April 25.
Manchester United are the likely opponents in the play-off final, with them currently holding a four-point lead at the top of the Reserve League North.
