Aston Villa continued their preparations for the new Premier League season with a goalless draw against Braga in Portugal this evening.
Gary Gardner headed an Aly Cissokho cross straight into the arms of Braga goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk inside the opening 10 minutes as the visitors started brightly.
Carles Gil then picked out Gabriel Agbonlahor with a defence-splitting pass, but the striker could only blaze his effort high over the bar.
Agbonlahor went closer with his next chance as he drilled an effort against the crossbar just before the half-hour mark, but the game remained goalless going into the break.
Braga were much brighter after the restart, and only a well-timed interception from Kieran Richardson 10 minutes into the second half kept the Portuguese side off the scoresheet.
Janoi Donacien was the next Villa man to make a crucial intervention as Braga threatened once more, but the Premier League side could have been ahead themselves late on through Charles N'Zogbia.
The French winger collected the ball on the edge of the area and struck a powerful shot against the post with 12 minutes remaining.
There was some more late drama as Libor Kozak nearly turned a Braga corner into his own net before Braga's William Pottker nearly won it with a 25-yard strike that was acrobatically tipped away in the dying minutes by Mark Bunn.
Joe Sharratt
