Goalkeeper Peter Enckelman was forced into making two fine saves during 45 minutes in which Villa defended comfortably against an otherwise unimpressive Swiss side.

The early lapses aside, Villa were doing a commendable defensive job, marshalled in particular by Turkey international Alpay who was winning everything in the air.

With Basle, who had won five of their previous six Intertoto Cup matches, unable to make any headway they were often forced to back track to search for the openings, much to the frustration of the 20,000-plus crowd inside the 30,000-capacity stadium.

Basle, the most expensively assembled side in Swiss football - but with Gross a man under pressure given the club are currently 10th of 12 teams in the Swiss championship this season after a handful of games - certainly lacked the cutting edge which had been displayed by Rennes.

Enckelman made another fine stop just before the break as a loose ball broke to Hakan Yakin inside the area for a powerful snap shot which the Finn superbly blocked.