Martin O'Neill admitted Nigel Reo-Coker's equaliser was the turning point in Aston Villa's 3-1 Uefa Cup win over Litex Lovech. And afterwards the Villa boss admitted it gave his side the platform to go on and record an important 3-1 first-leg win away from home thanks to further strikes from Gareth Barry and Stiliyan Petrov.
"It took ages and ages to get into it and Nigel's goal just before half-time changed the complexion of the game," O'Neill told five.
"Just a minute before half-time they missed and within a minute we had scored at the other end.
"I said before the start that win, lose or draw, getting the away goal was the most important thing."
O'Neill also revealed he was delighted his side went on to extend their advantage to 3-1 ahead of the return leg at Villa Park
"I was pleased we scored the third goal because we have a lot to learn from European football," he added.
"But we have put ourselves in a good position."
