Reporting from Sangin, the BBC's Defence Correspondent Caroline Wyatt said that the local insurgency, funded by drug-running, is being slowly rolled-back by British troops and their Afghan allies but the Taliban are looking more disciplined and are starting to shoot back.
Bowyer, only selected because of an ankle injury to Craig Gardner, was afforded the freedom of the penalty box on 17 minutes and the 33-year-old rolled back the years to burst through and coolly slot past Cech.
Pires, a three-time Cup winner with Arsenal who scored the Gunners' winner against Southampton in the 2003 final, has been a largely peripheral figure at Villa Park since joining in November - but the 37-year-old rolled back the years with a fine finish from Delfouneso's knockdown.