Villa beat Blues 3-1 in the Easter derby

Aston Villa beat Birmingham City 3-1 at Villa Park on Easter Sunday, piling more pressure on Blues as they battle to avoid relegation from the Premiership.

Milan Baros scored twice and Gary Cahill added a spectacular bicycle kick as Villa took the points in the Second City derby on 16 April.

Baros the hero

The Czech striker, signed from Liverpool last summer, has had a mixed first season at Villa Park, but he produced the goods on the big occasion. His two goals put Villa in control, and Cahill's acrobatic strike will be remembered by Villa fans for years to come.

Cahill is only 20 and has only recently broken into the Villa first team after spending time on loan at Burnley. His goal was the highlight of what has been a difficult season for David O'Leary's side, who have spent much of it in the bottom half of the table.

Blues in trouble

For Birmingham City and their manager Steve Bruce, the result could hardly have come at a worse time. Blues have struggled all season and are fighting to stay in the Premiership, with only a handful of games left.

More than 40,000 fans were at Villa Park to see it. Losing to their fiercest rivals is always hard to take, and the defeat leaves Blues needing results elsewhere to go their way.

Bruce has been in charge since December 2001 and led the club to promotion to the top flight in 2002. They have spent four seasons in the Premiership since, and relegation would be a heavy blow to the club and its owners, David Gold and David Sullivan.

A derby with history

The Second City derby is one of the oldest and most bitter rivalries in English football. The two clubs first met in 1879, and the rivalry has been fierce ever since.

Recent years have brought some memorable derbies. Blues beat Villa 3-0 at St Andrew's in September 2002, their first top-flight derby for 16 years, in a game remembered for a mistake by the Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman, and won 2-0 at Villa Park the following March.

Blues also won both derbies in the 2004-05 season. This win gives Villa fans bragging rights again, and Cahill's goal will be replayed for a long time.

What comes next

Villa, who have struggled for consistency themselves, should now be safe from relegation. There is growing discontent among supporters, though, about the club's lack of ambition and investment under chairman Doug Ellis, and questions remain over O'Leary's future.

For Blues, the task is simple but daunting: win their remaining games and hope that others slip up. Their fans will be hoping that the club can find the form that has deserted them for much of the season.