Groningen have thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in a pre-season friendly in the Netherlands this afternoon.
Villa came under pressure almost immediately, and gave away the first goal after just a couple of minutes when a Shay Given clearance was picked up by Tjaronn Chery, who lashed the ball past the stricken keeper.
The striker caught Given out against a couple of minutes later when he spotted the former Republic of Ireland international off his line, allowing Chery to unleash a powerful strike from 30 yards out.
The visitors started to create more chances as the half progressed, with Kieran Richardson picking out Darren Bent, but the striker's shot was blocked.
However, the Dutch side caught Villa out on the counter-attack just before the half-hour mark, allowing Danny Hoesen to cross the ball in from the left for Jarchinio Antonia to tap in.
Chery had a chance to complete his hat-trick on the cusp of half time when the hosts won a free kick, but his effort went straight into the wall.
Villa created little at the start of the second half, but a number of changes midway through the spell saw Charles N'Zogbia introduced, and he curled the ball into the top corner from outside the box just a couple of minutes after coming on to give Paul Lambert's side some hope.
However, the Villa goalscorer gave the ball away in midfield during stoppage time, allowing Dino Islamovic to slot the ball under Given in the final moments to put the win beyond doubt.
Sian Cowper
