Villa 2-1 A Madrid 1998 goal footage. So near yet so far...........!

[Deano's Mullet]

Great game and one of the best atmospheres inside Villa Park since it went all-seater. We'd played well in this competition all season and this night was no exception although, as it seems happened every time we crashed out of the UEFA, we lost on away goals even though the tie was level at 2-2. Admittedly they were giving us the runaround for the first half but once Gregory brought Collymore and Nelson on the tide was turned. In fact Nelson played in midfield that night i recall (in fact he did that in several UEFA cup ties that season) and he played extremely well.  I am not a big fan of Collymore i have to admit but i have to admit that was a decent goal, just a shame he could never reproduce that kind of form week-in week-out. Lee Hendrie had just broke into the team and during  this match (and the subsequent league run-in) he was electric (copyright BFR). Ian Taylor was in fine goal scoring form that season and managed to chalk up another goal that night. A great night not too far behind either home match with Inter, just a shame it had to be a glorious failure. I remember trudging out of the ground thinking season over but we went off to Goodison the following Saturday and tonked Everton 4-1 and won virtually every match from then on up to the season's end and clinched a UEFA Cup spot.
Villa are playing in white here for some reason despite being at home although we did so vs Steau in the previous round as well.

[UsualSuspect]

That was one of the top 3 atmospheres I have witnessed

I was in the Old Trinity upper on the wooden seats and it felt like the roof was going to come off

[UsualSuspect]

Just as a side issue, why did we play all of our home games in the white kit???

[lennythekad]

Out of all my hundreds of times at VP, when Collymore scored, it was the most mental celebration I can ever remember. God knows what it would have been like if Hendrie had poked that chance in, in the six yard box a few minutes later.

[Irish villain]

I was watching this earlier in the week. A game I'll never forget. Lee Hendrie was immense for us that night and when Collymore scored I went completely mental. That second half performance showed what a great side we had then if we could only have gotten them playing like that earlier in the season.

[Irish villain]

The version I watched was from Channel 5 I think and is four mins.

[Pat McMahon]

Just as a side issue, why did we play all of our home games in the white kit???

I am not sure why we did that night but if my memory serves me right we also wore our all white strip against Atletic Bilbao and Gornik Zabrze in the 1977-78 UEFA Cup campaign, so there was some previous. I think we also wore all white at another European game, but that was on neutral territory..............

[Meanwood Villa]

I was Trinity Upper as well that night and a superb atmosphere as previous posters have said. Would have been tough to win it that year, we'd have had Lazio in semis who then lost to Inter, original Ronaldo and all, in the final but wouldn't it have been great to have a go.
Anyone else remember the rumours that Vieri wanted to come to us on the basis of the atmosphore that night? The story was he paid Gregory to go and watch him in world cup that summer. Don't know if there was any truth in it.

[UsualSuspect]

Just as a side issue, why did we play all of our home games in the white kit???

I am not sure why we did that night but if my memory serves me right we also wore our all white strip against Atletic Bilbao and Gornik Zabrze in the 1977-78 UEFA Cup campaign, so there was some previous. I think we also wore all white at another European game, but that was on neutral territory..............

We also wore white for the earlier rounds home games against Steua Bucharest and i think Athletic Bilbao

[eamonn]

Great game, and the following run-in to the end of the season was the best I've seen Villa play over a sustained run over the past 15 years (since '95/96).

[Deano's Mullet]

We wore white vs Trabzonspor in 1994 too

[The Left Side]

If only Lee Hendrie's shot had crept in, great game as I recall!

[Blackcountry Villa]

What an atmosphere. I love the roar of encouragement just after Taylor's goal and the 'Villa. Villa. Villa' (why don't we do that anymore?), you can tell the whole ground is cheering and roaring, now only the Holte End bother and even thats a rareity these days.

[curiousorange]

My favourite Villa game that I was at, without question.

[Irish villain]

I also remember the Vieri rumours... £18m wasn't it? Imagine if we had bought him!