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Villa are victorious following a stirring comeback at Wigan

Gabriel Agbonlahor's second half strike capped a stirring Aston Villa fightback as Martin O'Neill's side won 2-1 against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

Agbonlahor struck with 20 minutes to play at the JJB Stadium after Curtis Davies had canceled out Titus Bramble's opener for Wigan.

Villa had to dig deep for their first win in six matches, while Wigan's three-match unbeaten run ground to a halt, sending Steve Bruce's team back into the relegation zone.

If Marcus Bent had been more alert when Ryan Taylor's corner ran to him, Wigan would have got the perfect start. Instead the striker's touch was poor and Scott Carson was able to save easily.

Villa were hit by an early blow when Norway forward John Carew limped off, with Luke Moore on as his replacement.

Wigan were snapping into their tackles with relish and looked set to take the lead when Antoine Sibierski met Antonio Valencia's cross, only for the French midfielder to miss his kick.

O'Neill's side were struggling to impose themselves and Olof Mellberg had to block bravely to deny Taylor when he powered Bent's knockdown towards the goal.

A breakthrough for Wigan looked inevitable and it duly arrived in the 28th minute when Taylor swung over a corner and Bramble rose unchallenged to power a header past Carson.

It was Bramble's first goal since August last year and was no more than the hosts deserved for a high-tempo display.

But O'Neill's halftime teamtalk worked wonders as Villa tore into the Latics after the break.

When Villa's equalizer did arrive it came from an unlikely source.

Gareth Barry's corner flashed across the box to Davies and the young defender, making his first Premier League start for Villa, was on hand to head home.

The momentum was all with the visitors now and they stole the points with a flowing move worthy of winning any soccer match.

Nigel Reo-Coker sprayed a pass to Moore, who picked out Ashley Young. The winger's cross picked out Agbonlahor and he headed home off the underside of the crossbar for his seventh goal of the season.
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