Revenge sweet for Richard Dunne as Gareth Barry's feathers are ruffled

Richard Dunne provided the subplot while Gareth Barry looked off colour on his return to his old club
Richard Dunne Gareth Barry
Richard Dunne and Garth Barry after the match. Photograph: Scott Heavey/Action Images

Amid the furore surrounding Gareth Barry's return to Villa Park it was easy to forget there was another subplot. It did not take long for Richard Dunne to provide a gentle reminder as to the identity of the other protagonist. Sold to Aston Villa in August for £5m after being deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester City, the central defender towered above Barry to head the opening goal of the game. Oh the irony.

There was no celebration out of respect for the City fans he had served for nine years but it would be fair to assume that Garry Cook was not far from Dunne's mind when the ball arched over Shay Given. The Republic of Ireland international had accused City's executive chairman of "trying to sell me behind my back" and reneging on his promise to grant him a testimonial. He also said Cook "doesn't really understand football". Revenge is sweet.

Barry's transfer had been acrimonious for altogether different reasons and the hostility towards the former Villa captain was evident long before kick-off when his name was read out and boos reverberated around the stadium. Once the action got under way, the same noise greeted his every touch on an evening when he struggled to make much of an impact against his former employers.

There is a feeling that Villa fans would have forgiven Barry had he joined one of the top four clubs but moving to City, after he had declared the previous summer that he was desperate to play in the Champions League, was never going to sit comfortably with the hardcore support. That City's spending would make them more credible challengers for a place at the top table this season was conveniently ignored.

Finances of a different kind were relevant, however. City's willingness to pay salaries that read like telephone numbers left Barry open to the accusation that money had been his primary motivation for moving to Eastlands. The game was only a few minutes old when the Holte End made their thoughts known on that subject. "There's only one greedy bastard," bellowed the Villa supporters. How many of those fans would turn down the chance to work for a more ambitious employer offering a threefold increase in their salary would be interesting to know.

Not that rational thinking has much of a place in football of course. Barry will have known what to expect and the Villa faithful were not in the mood to disappoint. The 441 appearances he made for the club over 12 years counted for little here as the midfielder was heckled throughout, with the set pieces that he more often than not took providing a prolonged opportunity to subject the England international to abuse.

An early sliding tackle on James Milner suggested Barry was up for the occasion but his contribution over the remainder of the first half was mixed and unquestionably overshadowed by the moment when Dunne climbed above him to give Villa a deserved early lead following Stephen Warnock's corner. Why Barry, who is not renowned for his heading prowess, was picking up the powerful central defender was a question that Mark Hughes found difficult to answer.

For a moment it looked like Barry might deliver an immediate riposte but, having picked up a good position on the right-hand side of the area and sat Dunne on his backside after checking on to his favoured left foot, he was tackled by the impressive Warnock. Otherwise Barry seemed a little ruffled and it was strange to see a player who generally passes the ball with such precision look so slovenly in possession.

A free-kick two minutes before the interval provided Barry with an opportunity to demonstrate his quality but Brad Friedel tipped Emmanuel Adebayor's header over. Otherwise it was Dunne who did most to catch the eye and it was no surprise that he was named as the man of the match. The 30-year-old will, however, rue the header that he directed wide before the hour mark, when Barry was again outmuscled, and also his part in City's equaliser.

Having made a fine interception Dunne seemed to lose his bearings, inviting Stephen Ireland to thread a slide-rule pass into the path of Adebayor who drifted off his shoulder. The Togo international promptly picked out Bellamy who thrashed a first-time shot high into the top corner before racing towards the City fans. Barry, meanwhile, trotted back to the centre circle. For a couple of players, this was not a night for goal celebrations.

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