Meanwhile, his Wolves counterpart Mick McCarthy said poor defending had let his side down.
It was ultimately a miserable return to the Reebok Stadium for Sam Allardyce and the Rovers boss criticised his side for defending "like a bunch of old women".
That said, their 5-4-1 formation encouraged Villa to flood forward in the opening stages and, were it not for some heroic defending, the home side could have claimed a resounding triumph.
But the Falcons refused to buckle and poor defending from the home side enabled Vickerman to go over for his side's second try of the afternoon - converted by Gopperth to go 17-16 in front.
But that will matter little to Hodgson as he contemplates the solid defending that yielded his side's first clean sheet since August, not to mention the possibility of sealing a top-half finish at Newcastle next weekend.
Nigerian side Enyimba, the defending champions, are in Group A with Tunisia's Etoile Sahel, Ivorian side Africa Sport and newcomers Bakili Bullets of Malawi.
Regarding the game against likely league runners-up Liverpool, Mowbray was left to rue his side's defending.
Cooper was unhappy with the side's defending in last Saturday's 3-2 defeat at Coventry and has hinted Gabby Zakuani might return to the starting line-up.
Chelsea spent the latter stages camped out in Rosenborg's half, but a combination of good fortune, safe handling from Hirschfeld and stout defending kept Mourinho's side at bay.
Despite their poor defending, Trewick was upbeat about his side's performance.
But West Ham were not to be denied a goal back five minutes into the second half - taking advantage of the kind of questionable defending that was a feature of both side's play.
Heeley believes his side have work to do when defending set plays.
The home side were stunned, with Rovers defending their lead with ease, and it was only towards the end of the first half that Grant's men began to show signs of recovery.
Quagliarella had grabbed the equalizer for his side in the 2-2 draw at defending champions Chelsea in the Champions League in midweek.
Defending deep and in numbers, David Moyes's side allowed Chelsea plenty of possession up until 30 yards from their goal, at which point they nullified the Blues' threat and ensured a relatively quiet night for keeper Tim Howard.
On the opposition side, Mr Fini was thus left alone in defending the reforms, including his own pet project, the directly elected presidency.
On the other side will be the irrational champions of vigilante justice passionately defending their right to unlimited weapons.
Striker Diego Milito gave the home side the perfect start, taking advantage of some poor defending from John Terry and firing in after only three minutes.
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The match will be the last in a continental campaign that has included victories over defending champions Shaktar Donetsk and Italian giants Juventus for Hodgson's side.
It was some last-ditch defending by a resolute Rovers as they clung on against a home side who were left shaking their heads in disbelief and frustration after the game.
Substitute Antonio Di Natale wasted another golden chance eight minutes from time when he ran clear but fired into the side netting, but at the other end Italy's defending was outstanding.
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However, the home side managed to double their lead soon after thanks to some calamitous Rangers defending.
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Minutes later it took desperate last-ditch defending to prevent Kenny-Dowall from adding a second on the right-hand side, as he was stopped from grounding the ball.
They were soon back defending and were fortunate not to concede a try 14 minutes in after the home side knocked on when camped on the line.
Defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk moved five points clear in Group J , with the Ukrainian side winning their third successive game and scoring four goals for the third time, crushing Toulouse 4-0.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting admitted his side had been disappointing with the bat, giving them little hope of defending their total, and was critical of his own performance after only scoring 13.
"After 17 years of representing NBA players during CBA negotiations and defending their rights in other proceedings, not once was there an occasion where one side was denied an opportunity to be heard, " Hunter said.
The home side responded in style when Tomas O'Leary took advantage of poor defending by Richard Fussell to cleverly kick the ball through for Howlett to gather and score in the corner, O'Gara missing the conversion.
"There's no doubt that defending isn't the strongest part of his game, but we can't criticise that side of it, " he said.
By defending Sir Paul Condon, the Met's boss, he has probably kept the police on his side.
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