Villa turn tables on hated surface The end justified the means, but provided precious little satisfaction for Graham Taylor. Villa's manager detests plastic pitches and is merely grateful to grab what he can when his teams have to play on them. That was why there was never any likelihood of Villa displaying a spirit of adventure at Kenilworth Road. "You get your pleasure from playing on these pitches with the result," admitted Taylor. "You have to sacrifice certain things. "But I am not apologising for it. Artificial pitches never have been, and never will be, a substitute for the real thing." The small group of Villa fans, who found a way round Luton's ban on visiting supporters, only saw two things to send them home with something to celebrate - Derek Mountfield's left-foot stab on the stroke of halftime and an encouraging debut from 18-year-old Mark Blake.