Tottenham face fine after flare hits linesman in win at Aston Villa

Linesman David Bryan is struck on the neck by a flare thrown by a Tottenham fan at Aston Villa. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images

A sparkling performance by Andros Townsend in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Villa Park was overshadowed when an assistant referee was hit by a flare thrown by a member of the visiting support. The Football Association will now launch an investigation into an incident it called "unacceptable" and one that could earn the club a hefty fine.

Two men, aged 25 and 47, were arrested by West Mildands police over the incident. It occurred just after Townsend had given his side the lead in the 31st minute when David Bryan was struck on the back of the neck by the flare and, although he was fine to continue and did not require any treatment, there was a short delay because of the blue smoke on the pitch. Phil Dowd, the referee, said that he was aware of the incident and will be including it in his report. An FA spokesman said: "The FA will investigate this matter, which is unacceptable. We will await the match official's report and will be speaking to the clubs. Such incidents highlight the dangers of pyrotechnics being used in a football stadium."

Tottenham's manager, André Villas-Boas, was equally firm in his condemnation. "It's not great to see and it should be avoided completely," he said. "It touched the linesman and situations like this do not have a place in football. I sincerely hope that it doesn't happen again."

The match itself was notable for the contribution of Townsend, who followed up his England heroics by scoring his first Premier League goal for Tottenham and tormenting Villa's left-back, Antonio Luna. Townsend, who also signed a new four-year deal on Friday, showed no effects fromthe "space monkey" row he was caught up in with Roy Hodgson.

"Alongside the team he grew in the second half and really improved his performance," Villas-Boas said. "He gives us so many attacking options because he is able to take the team forward with his driving ability and then link the play by crossing and assisting. So it was another great performance like we saw for his country.

"He does it naturally. He is very high on motivation, so he wants the ball and has no fear to show for the ball. He is learning different parts of his game and he is getting to know his colleagues better so I think his performances are going to improve in time.

"He has to cope with the amount of public attention he gets. He is a very grounded and down- to-earth person, so he won't have any problems. Before he went to England his confidence was high with Spurs. What he has been doing for Spurs, he did for England and now he's continuing to do well.

"He had to wait for the opportunity when [Aaron] Lennon got injured and the opportunity came against Norwich and Swansea and from then on, he has been excellent. It is early days for Andros. He has shown all his drive to stay at Spurs. He is a fearless player and doesn't fear the competition. Performances like this will guarantee his place in the team."

The victory moved Tottenham up to fifth place and also featured a first league goal in open play from Roberto Soldado after his £26m arrival at White Hart Lane from Valencia last summer. "Soldado, good to see him back in the goals," Villas-Boas said. "The 2-0 is what we deserved and a result that is fair.