Soccer-Townsend on target as Spurs beat Villa

Oct 20 (Reuters) - Andros Townsend kept the spotlight firmly trained on him by netting his first Premier League goal in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday. The 22-year-old, who signed a new four-year deal with Spurs on Friday having scored on his England debut the previous week before finding himself at the centre of a racism furore, opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a cross that found the net. Roberto Soldado doubled the advantage on 69 minutes after a sublime touch from Paulinho set up the Spaniard for a neat finish. The match was marred just after Townsend's opener when a linesman was hit on the back of the head by a flare thrown from the crowd at Villa Park. He was able to continue but a cloud of smoke lingered for some time. Victory lifted Spurs to fifth in the standings with 16 points from eight games, level on points with fourth-placed Manchester City. Arsenal are top on 19 with Chelsea and Liverpool two points behind. (Reporting by Sonia Oxley; Editing by Alison Wildey)