Villa are rescued by Angel's double

Without ever looking measurably better than an opponent with only one victory all season, Villa did enough in the end to raise the spirits at Villa Park, where a planned night of protest against chairman Doug Ellis failed to get off the ground.

Those disgruntled supporters who believe Ellis is not matching his ambitions with an appropriate level of spending instead left chanting the name of one player for whom Ellis can claim to have dug deep, two goals from £9.5m striker Juan Pablo Angel keeping Villa among the contenders despite their unconvincing recent form.

However, even a first win in seven Premiership games did not dissuade manager John Gregory from making more comments designed to prick his chairman's conscience after being told he would have to sell before he can buy, perhaps even parting with Angel to fund new investment. "Juan Pablo has become a hero here and it would make no sense at all to let him go," he said.

Angel's header late in the first half cancelled out the goal with which Finidi George had given Ipswich a surprise lead and the Colombian struck again midway through the second period to raise his tally for the season to 10 goals. A nasty night and live television coverage kept the crowd small and the pressure group who planned to distribute 25,000 "Ellis out" placards must have had a great many left over.

Ellis's biggest shock must have been when Ipswich took the lead. Some five hours and 32 minutes after their last Premiership goal on 18 November, the bottom of the table side went ahead when George, outside the area with defenders between him and the goal, managed to squeeze a low right-footed shot between Peter Schmeichel and his right-hand post.

There was so little fluidity in Villa's play that the equaliser put away by Angel just before half-time came as an unexpected lifeline. The goal stemmed from Matteo Sereni's failure to claim a Steve Staunton corner, the Villa defender launching a second cross after the ball had been hooked away and this time finding the head of Angel, who directed a header beyond the reach of the Italian goalkeeper.

At the start of the second half, Villa did look more convincing and a well-worked move involving Steve Stone and George Boateng on the right almost ended with a sublime goal by Paul Merson, whose chip from 15 yards hit the crossbar with Sereni beaten.

Stone's raiding down the right was as productive a line of attack as either side could muster and it was from this route that Villa moved ahead again after 69 minutes when the right-winger's pass found Angel, who turned away from Mark Venus and had the strength and determination to score despite the attentions of John McGreal, his shot taking a deflection off the defender's boot and looping out of Sereni's reach.

Aston Villa (4-4-2): Schmeichel 5; Samuel 5, Mellberg 6, Staunton 7, Wright 5; Stone 8, Boateng 4, Hendrie 6 (Dublin 66, 5), Barry 5; Merson 7, Angel 7 (Vassell, 84). Substitutes not used: Enckelman (gk), Balaban, Bewers.

Ipswich Town (4-4-2): Sereni 5; Makin 6, McGreal 6, Venus 5, Hreidarsson 6; George 7 (Clapham 6, 65), Holland 7, Magilton 6, Wright 5; Armstrong 5 (Bent, 80), Naylor 5. Substitutes not used: Counago, Bramble, Branagan (gk).

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).