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John

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  2. John
    We were missing three of our biggest hitters for this game, but the absence of Jack, Tyrone and Kortney could not derail our fast finishing promotion train.
    These three players had played crucial roles in extending our run of successive league wins to 7 before yesterday’s game. Their absence was a real cause for concern before Saturday’s kick-off, but we proved that we are not quite a one-man team after all, despite rumours to the contrary.
    It has been 44 years since Aston Villa last recorded 8 consecutive league wins. We were promoted at the end of that 1974-75 season, finishing second to Manchester United. Let’s hope that this tremendous run of wins produces the same happy ending.         
    This was a real top of the table clash and in the first half both sides battled like rutting stags to gain supremacy. The second half was a different matter. We pulled 4 points clear of our promotion rivals with a dazzling 45-minute display that produced another vital win and could have given us a more decisive win, than the odd goal one that we achieved. Their goalkeeper Max O’Leary had a day to remember, making save after save to prevent us from stretching our lead to an unassailable one.     
    When they pulled a goal back with 16 minutes of normal time remaining along with an astonishing 7 minutes of stoppage time, many may have anticipated the game being cruelly snatched away from us during those nervous final minutes. That didn’t happen though and didn’t really look like happening. Instead we played out those remaining minutes with confidence and without too much cause for alarm.        
    The players that turned out in claret & blue yesterday wore their shirts with pride. They played as a team and the squad clearly all want to play their part in achieving our goal. They players gave everything, and by so doing, brought what had seemed only a few weeks ago to be an unrealistic hope of making the play offs within touching distance.         
    WBA supporters were telephoning BBC WM after the game claiming that they want to meet us in the play offs, my message to them would be “be careful what you wish for!”           
    My player ratings from a game that took us within 3 wins of equalling our club record of 11 consecutive wins which we achieved in 1897 and that also got Lee Johnson rather infuriated for some reason are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Well protected by those in front of him, other than when they pulled a goal back.   
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – Another very composed and solid performance from Elmo.          
    Axel Tuanzebe - 8 – He was simply outstanding at the heart of our defence yesterday. Axel was both assured and composed throughout.      
    Mile Jedinak – 7 – Brought all his experience to bear to produce this solid defensive performance when we so needed it. Had an 85th minute header blocked on the line.               
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Did well. His confidence is growing with each win as is his contribution to each of those wins. His attempted clearance was blocked at the start of the build up to their goal and he had a 77th minute shot blocked at the near post.                
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Played his part for the whole game this time, in securing what was an important win. Hit the post with a header on 13 minutes. Hit an 80th minute shot wide of the keeper’s left-hand post.             
    Glenn Whelan – 8 – Controlled the midfield again. Held it together making full use of his experience and steadied things when a cool head was needed. Fully deserves the plaudits he is now getting.  
    John McGinn – 8 – Had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders in this game and John thrived on that. Ran the ball from the corner flag into the box before hitting a shot that O’Leary did well to tip over the bar. Hit an 88th minute shot over having been found by Davis and had a 94th minute shot tipped over the bar.          
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – Had a 31st minute header from an El Ghazi cross punched clear by O’Leary. The keeper again did well to block his 62nd minute close range shot with his leg, which went on to bounce over the bar. Was awarded our penalty when going for a cross into the centre of the box from McGinn. Nodded an inviting El Ghazi cross over on 64 minutes. Picked up a loose ball in the middle to start the move that he finished on 66 minutes with he turned and hit a shot past the keeper and inside the far post for our second goal. On another luckier day for him, he might have had a hat-trick.
    Anwar El Ghazi – 8 – MOTM – Produced the sort of performance that he had showed he was capable of at WBA. He beat his man for fun yesterday, particularly during the second half during which he was unstoppable. Hit a 13th minute shot from well outside of the box that O’Leary was only able to palm away towards Adomah whose header struck the near post. Hit a 62nd minute shot from outside of the box that O’Leary could only punch away to his left. Found Conor inside the box to claim an assist for our second goal. This was a match-winning performance and we need to see more of the same in our remaining games.                   
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – Lacked the service he has become accustomed to getting from Jack in the first half. Showed nerves of steel when slotting his 55th minute penalty into the centre of the goal, as O’Leary dived to his right to give us the crucial first goal, having missed one at Rotherham in midweek. Tammy has two dozen goals this season and another six would be very, very nice.        
    Substitutes:
    Keinan Davis – 7 – Replaced Tammy on 72 minutes and did a really great job. Held the ball up well when we needed him to, fitted smoothly into the lone striker role and quickly got into the game. Outmuscled a defender to claim a ball played forward by Lansbury and moved into the box, hitting a 94th minute shot that O’Leary blocked with his legs at the near post.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 - Replaced Conor on 80 minutes and played his own part in securing this win.       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  3. John
    Two defeats within a week have consigned us to a fourth season outside of the top flight. Fans bought half season tickets a couple of months ago in the hope of witnessing a strong second half of the season. They will now be resigning themselves to the fact that half of the games that they paid for have now become meaningless end of season fixtures for our football club.    
    We started well but we just don’t make good starts into goals and half time leads, do we? Instead we concede goals freely and find ourselves too often having to try to pull home games out of the fire in the second half. There was to be no stirring late comeback this time.    
    We had 63% of the possession, 11 shots to their 10, 9 corners to their 2 but they had the two goals and ran out comfortable winners. We probably shaded it before they scored, but the first goal was always going to be crucial in this game. When it came and was followed by another 4 minutes later, that effectively ended the game as a contest. Albion were content to hold onto what they had, and we were too easily beaten. Our primary second half ambition seemed to focus on damage limitation rather than on a concerted attempt to try and throttle those annoying Throstles. Even so, had we managed to put away one or two of the chances we made, we might have witnessed an unlikely comeback again.       
    We are 7 points behind Boro and Derby who are sixth and seventh. We play both of these sides at home in what is left of this season. On paper we could therefore draw within 4 points of each by winning those two home games but let’s face it we cannot buy a win. We have only won 6 of our 17 home league games to date and have one win from our last nine games.  
    Rodriguez’s hand stole 2 points from us in December and it was in that game that we had last looked like serious promotion contenders. This time it was his foot and a second goal just before half time that was deflected past Kalinic that prematurely ended our season. On both occasions the referees acted as Albion’s twelfth man.  
    My player ratings from a game before which we paid tribute to Gordon Banks, who was England’s best goalkeeper and to Ian Ross who was a rock-solid Villa defender and the captain of our 1975 League Cup winning team are:
    Lovre Kalinic – 5 – Saved low to his left from Murphy on 23 minutes having earlier dropped and then gathered a routine 20th minute ball into the box at the second attempt. Stood no real chance with Robson-Kanu’s 41st minute header which looped over him from a Holgate cross after Green had allowed him too much space wide on the right. Beaten again 4 minutes later from the edge of the box by a Rodriguez shot that took a deflection off Elphick and went in off his left-hand post. He had been dazed by a 21st minute collision with Livermore that resulted in his substitution at half time.   
    Alan Hutton – 4 – What he provides going forward was not compensated by his defensive lapses yesterday. Murphy left him in his wake too often and too easily.          
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – Made an important 4th minute challenge on Holgate. Hourihane’s 48th minute corner found him at the far post and his header was deflected onto the top of the crossbar off Dawson.    
    Tyrone Mings – 7 – MOTM – Booked for strongly yet correctly pointing out to the referee that he had played the ball out of play, off Rodriguez so it should have been a goal kick rather than a corner after Hutton had allowed the forward to run clear of him. Solid and composed in the centre of our defence again. Might need some persuading to make his loan deal permanent in the summer but we should make that a priority.            
    Kortney Hause – 6 – Looked decent yesterday and will get better with the increased match fitness that more first team games will result in. Headed a 30th minute Hourihane free kick well over the crossbar.              
    Glenn Whelan – 5 – Glenn wasn’t our least effective midfield performer yesterday.                
    John McGinn – 6 – Picked up the booking that has always appeared inevitable that will result in a 2-game suspension for our most effective and consistent midfielder. Hit a 30 yard shot that Johnstone dived to his left to push away for a corner.
    Conor Hourihane – 4 – Doesn’t contribute much other than his ability to hit a corner and a free-kick well. Stretched to reach the ball in the build up to their second but Rodriguez came away with it and then moved to Hutton’s left without the defender attempting to put in a challenge before hitting the ball past Kalinic.      
    Andre Green – 5 – Hit a 2nd minute shot wide of the post from the edge of the box but didn’t make much of an impact upon this game.       
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Did well, particularly in the first half. Glanced a near post header from an 81st minute McGinn corner just wide of the far post.            
    Tammy Abraham – 6 – He was in the right place at the right time twice but this time he was unable to put his chances away. Even Tammy showed he can’t do it every time yesterday. Hause got a firm header on a Johnstone kick that Elmo controlled near the left-hand edge of the box before finding Tammy unmarked near the penalty spot. His touch was poor, and Johnstone smothered his side footed attempt on goal. Climbed well between 2 defenders to head an 84th minute Hause cross just wide of the far post    
    Substitutes:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Came on for the injured Kalanic at the beginning of the second half.
    Jacob Ramsey - 5 – Replaced Hourihane on 61 minutes. It was asking a lot of this youngster to expect him to come on and make an impression in this game with the die already cast. Understandably took some time to settle into the game. McGinn played a nice ball that found him within the box on 94 minutes, but he attempted a cross which was blocked when he might have been better having a pot himself. Hit a shot wide of the post from the resulting McGinn corner.       
    Jonathan Kodjia - 4 - Came on for Green on 71 minutes and has looked keener to try to make an impact on games in the past when coming off the bench.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  4. John
    Jack’s back and so were the Villa yesterday! Alan Durban, Kevin Hector, Roy McFarland, Alan Hinton, Archie Gemmill, Roger Davies and Francis Lee. Your boys took one hell of a beating!
    Captain Jack invigorated the team on his return and led by example. We have not looked nearly as good as we did yesterday, in the 13 league games that we have played without him, since injury deprived us of our talisman. One player does not make a team, but one player can help a team to play like one!
    Three first half goals won it for us at Pride Park in November and four first half goals won it for us at Villa Park yesterday. We have scored 7 goals against Frank Lampard’s Derby and have kept two clean sheets against them this season. If we could play them every week, then promotion might still not be quite beyond us!    
    Villa rather than our visitors looked the serious promotion contenders yesterday. If only Jack had been able to come back a month earlier, we might have made a late run for the play offs. As it is, we are 6 points behind sixth place Bristol City. That gap could be pegged back to three points as they still have to visit Villa Park, but they do have a game in hand. Derby also have a run of 4 successive home games to follow this defeat, which still leaves them 3 points ahead of us. A more realistic and achievable target is therefore making it another double on Sunday!       
    Our visitors were not at their best yesterday, but they seldom are at this stage of the season, are they? The scintillating first half performance that we produced yesterday, would have blown away any championship team though. We eased through the second half with the game already won but lost another central defender through injury during it. Tommy Elphick can now be added to Axel and Chester, on the treatment table, on the day that we got our Jack back. Could Chester be fit for selection by Sunday, I wonder?
    My player ratings from a game that left us remembering how good it feels to see a Villa home win and how hard it can prove to stop smirking after a victory such as this, are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Had a quiet afternoon but his presence may be giving some much-needed confidence to the defenders who are in front of him.   
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – He retains the ball. Sometimes he plays the ball back behind him to do so but he doesn’t give the ball away too often. He does what it says on the tin and did so yesterday very well. He got an assist with a well-placed cross for our second. A good solid overall performance from Elmo.          
    Tommy Elphick - 7 – Solid again alongside Tyrone before he was stretchered off on 67 minutes. He was unfortunately on crutches after the game. Appeared to catch his foot on the turf when moving towards a pass from Mings. This was cruel luck for Tommy, who has been twice the player he was before his loan spell, since returning to the club from Hull.    
    Tyrone Mings – 8 – He looks increasingly composed and comfortable with each game. Headed an El Ghazi cross wide of the far post on 57 minutes. We must pull out all the stops to try to keep him at Villa Park next season!             
    Kortney Hause – 7 – He wins plenty of ball in the air, doesn’t he? He understandably tends to drift towards the middle of the defence, which leaves room on his flank. Looked solid yesterday and played some nice balls out of defence. Looked comfortable when switched into the centre of our defence following Tommy’s substitution.               
    Glenn Whelan – 8 – Glenn turned back the years yesterday and produced a very good solid all round midfield performance. He also hit the corner that Jack volleyed home to make it four before the half time whistle.           
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Albert was involved, keen and made a positive impression during this game. Hit a shot over the bar from inside of the box on 20 minutes.
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – Back to his best yesterday at long last. Conor popped up here, there and everywhere. Grealish played a nice ball forward to El Ghazi whose cross was hit wide of the far post by Conor on 5 minutes. Four minutes later, Jack floated a superb ball for Abraham to run onto. Tammy’s attempt on goal was blocked by Carson, only for the ball to run onto Conor, who turned home our first. He then swept home our third and his second on 44 minutes, placing the ball past Carson from the edge of the box with some aplomb.       
    Jack Grealish – 9 – MOTM – So much for needing a couple of games after a lengthy injury break to get back to his best! Jack was simply tremendous on his long-awaited return to the first team. He hit a magnificent, unstoppable volley from the edge of the box to give us our fourth goal in the 2nd minute of first half stoppage time from Whelan’s corner. He then hit a 55th minute shot from the edge of the box that Carson pushed away for a corner. He teased and worried Derby until leaving the field to a standing ovation on 71 minutes. Hopefully he will get a little more protection from match officials following his return from injury, although it only took 17 minutes for him to receive a first clumsy challenge that went unpunished yesterday.            
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – Good to see him tracking back a couple of times and he did well when doing so. Made a strong run before hitting a cross that Tomori blocked a minute into first half stoppage time. The ball then cannoned off Wisdom into the side netting and we scored from the resulting corner. Took a touch on a 79th minute Hourhihane cross before hitting a shot that Carson blocked near the far post. A step up on his recent performances.             
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – Hit his 21st goal of the season to end a barren run of three games without a goal. Whelan found Elmo on the right on 37 minutes and Tammy stretched to prod home his cross at the far post for our second. Claimed an assist for our third, when he won a high ball and ran on towards the box before playing the ball to Hourihane to score our third. Hit a 76th minute shot from the edge of the box, having been found by Grealish which forced a good save from Carson. Great to see him nodding his head in reaction to this encouraging win on the final whistle.      
    Substitutes:
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Came on for the unluckily injured Elphick on 67 minutes. Fitted in well enough, enabling Hause to move into the middle of the defence.
    Tom Carroll - 6 – Replaced Jack on 71 minutes and got some more first team minutes behind him during what was a less than pressured finish to the game.       
    Andre Green - Came on for El Ghazi on 80 minutes. Andre was not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  7. John
    There were flames and a pre-match firework display yesterday but we missed the spark of invention around the box that Jack had until his injury at WBA been providing us with, during the game itself.
    Dean Smith indicated after the match that he anticipated being without Jack for the rest of this month. His two-month absence will deal a potentially lethal body blow to our promotion hopes. It has already badly dented them, with us having taken only 6 points from a possible 15 from the games he has already missed.
    We have taken rapid steps to remedy our goalkeeping and central defensive issues already during this transfer window. I feel we now need to do the same in finding someone who can give us some sort of midfield creativity when Jack is absent.   
    This was to be a sorry start to the New Year for us with another two points dropped at Villa Park. The number of games played during the festive season has clearly taken its toll on our team which has also suffered from injuries that have had a noticeably adverse effect on our performance level. We started well yesterday but couldn’t put the game out of the reach of our visitors and we once again dropped points after being in front. Had we not done this quite so often, our promotion prospects would be looking considerably rosier now.        
    We have 3 draws and a defeat to show from our last 4 home games. That is not promotion form. Tammy’s goals have kept us in touch with the play off places, but we have not closed in on sixth place and are instead treading water 5 points off it. We have failed to take advantage of the recent slip ups of Leeds and Norwich and it is Sheffield United and WBA who are now within reach of these two clubs in the battle for automatic promotion. Whilst we look on now focusing on 6th rather than 2nd place.            
    We started well against an anti-football, cynical, time wasting QPR side who were aided and abetted by an inept refereeing display and who after this fixture remain above us having taken 4 points off us this season. Having drawn level on 75 minutes with 11 minutes of stoppage time still to be played once 90 minutes had been reached, QPR might have anticipated their goal being put under constant siege as we pressed for a late winner, but they got the point they came for all too easily without undue cause for concern.          
    My player ratings from a game that produced goals but not the three points that we needed are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Held a 69th minute shot from Freeman at his near post and made a good stop with his legs on 86 minutes from an Eze shot. Offered us some level of assurance between the sticks on his recall from Charlton. Had no chance with their first and their second flew past him into the top corner so on a day of only 4 on target shots 50% of them produced goals for the visitors.            
    James Bree – 6 – Did well enough in his natural position.         
    James Chester - 6 – Clipped the ball over their bar on 5 minutes. Played with a tad more confidence alongside Tommy.     
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Welcome back! Tommy will offer us some reasonable cover in the second half of the season. His Hull loan seems to have helped him to get back on track and he looked better than he had last time around yesterday.              
    Alan Hutton – 4 – Looked good enough coming forward again and he always gives 100% but his primary job is to defend, and he wasn’t up to scratch in that area yesterday. Lost an aerial challenge for the ball during the build up to their equalizer and left oceans of room on his flank too often. A glaring example of that was when he ambled back into a central position and Wszolek was allowed to run unchallenged and cross for Eze to hit their second past Steer and into the top corner of the net.            
    Birkir Bjarnason – 5 – Still in need of game time to build up his match fitness following his injury. Hit a 60th minute shot over from the edge of the box. Seemed to know what needed doing but often did not quite have the legs to do it.              
    John McGinn – 7 – A Bjarnason cross was deflected off a defender to John whose 20th minute shot from the edge of the box rattled the crossbar. His accurate cross a minute later produced our first goal. On hand in his own box to head a 33rd minute cross out for a corner. Had a shot saved at the keeper’s left post in stoppage time
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Failed twice to get any challenge in during the build up to their second goal. Hit an 81st minute free kick onto the roof of the net.     
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Can do better than this.      
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Hit a shot wide of the near post from inside of the box on 44 minutes but demonstrated again that he is not a natural wide player.            
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – MOTM – How many goals does he need to score to be on the winning team? Scored his first on 21 minutes when he nodded in a perfectly placed cross from McGinn and added a second on 75 minutes when he touched home another splendidly inviting cross this time from El Ghazi. Ran onto a sweet ball played through from McGinn on 23 minutes and hit his shot over the bar. Also had a 9th minute shot blocked at the near post by Lumley after Adomah had found him well.        
    Substitutes:
    Anwar El Ghazi - 6 – Replaced Kodjia on 61 minutes. Hit a perfect cross which Tammy turned in for our 75th minute equalizer.
    Yannick Bolasie - 6 – Came on for Adomah on 61 minutes. Hit the ball across the face of the goal on 78 minutes and headed an El Ghazi cross onto the roof of the net in stoppage time. Had earlier headed a Hourihane corner towards goal that was scrambled away from the goalmouth.    
    Glenn Whelan – Replaced Hourihane on 91 minutes. He was not on long enough to earn any rating and it was a surprising decision to see him coming on rather than Hogan or Davis with a winner being surely our objective in the last 10 minutes of the game.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  9. John
    This should have been a more comfortable win. We had the chances to have put the game out of sight before our penalty gave us a two-goal cushion. As we all know a two-goal lead can more than occasionally not prove enough for us. This so nearly proved to be the case again yesterday.   
    Our visitors who had for 75 minutes looked like a team that were on the bottom of the table and destined to give us a rare routine victory were injected with belief by a goal out of nothing by Sears.
    After that goal our insecurities and defensive frailties were exposed, and we were left clinging on to the win as our opponents suddenly realised a point might be there for the taking after all. Had it not been for the timely intervention of a post and the hand of Tommy, we might even have somehow managed to lose this one.   
    Nevertheless, win we did for the first time at Villa Park in two months. This win needs to be followed up by our signing of much needed reinforcements before the transfer window slams shut next week and by a win at Reading next weekend who like Ipswich also occupy one of the relegation places.
    This timely win has moved us back into the top half of the table and above Small Heath who now occupy a more accustomed place in the bottom half themselves. We are also within four points of sixth place and another ticket to the play off lottery.   
    My player ratings from a game during which we rediscovered that winning feeling are:
    Lovre Kalinic – 6 – The clean sheet that appeared likely for much of this game would have done a lot to boost Lovre’s confidence. Stood no realistic chance with their goal which was sweetly struck by Sears from 30 yards and flew past him at speed into the top corner of the net. Gathered a 45th minute Chalobah shot in the centre of his goal. Should have had that yellow card when he was booked for time wasting when waiting for a substitution to be made rescinded, but the referee is always right even when he’s wrong!  
    Alan Hutton – 6 – He again looked at his best when he was getting forward.         
    James Chester - 5 – Did well enough, given that he is carrying an injury.    
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Quaner ran between Chester and Tommy before going past Kalinic and hitting a shot which Elphick blocked with his trailing arm as he fell with Chester behind him covering on the line on 73 minutes. He was the best of our defenders yesterday.             
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Will he still be our first choice when this transfer window has closed?             
    Glenn Whelan – 6 – Did what we have come to expect but was more effective than of late at doing it, he understandably tired in the second half.                
    John McGinn – 8 – Hit a shot wide of the post on 4 minutes after Abraham had found him inside of the box. Turned superbly leaving Skuse for dead before running towards the and hitting a 31st minute shot that was too hot for Bialkowski to hold but Adomah was ruled offside when he hit the spilled ball into the net. Turned inside the box on 33 minutes and hit a shot that was not firm enough to seriously trouble Bialkowski who made a comfortable save at his left-hand post.
    Hit a 41st minute shot from outside of the box that Bialkowski was unable to hold onto but Collins was on hand to put the loose ball out for a corner. Hit a 53rd minute Hutton cross wide of the post and then hit a 64th minute Taylor cross over the bar. John was prevented by Judge from getting on the end of a Hourihane corner which resulted in the penalty that produced our second goal. On another day he could have scored a couple of goals himself. Importantly John continues to avoid the 10th yellow card that would bring him a 2-game suspension.
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Hit a 35th minute free kick from outside of the box that Bialkowski held at the second attempt as Abraham came in intent on adding a second. Hit another on 43 minutes that the keeper saved more routinely. His dead ball delivery was again impressive.    
    Albert Adomah – 5 – A marked improvement on last week’s display. Looked more interested, had an impact upon the game and could have gathered some much-needed confidence had his 31st minute finish not been ruled offside. Worked well with Hutton but can do better.       
    Anwar El Ghazi – 5 – Looked brighter than of late and more energetic but he is lacking an end product. He has shown that he can be more of a threat to defences than this.           
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – MOTM – Where would we be without his goals? Tammy weighed in with another brace yesterday. Hit our early 6th minute opener when he got in front of the visitor’s defence to be first to and to prod home Hourihane’s perfectly placed free kick. Coolly sent Bialkowski the wrong way from the penalty spot on 61 minutes, stroking the ball into the right-hand corner.
    Forced a save from Bialkowski on 36 minutes with a header from a McGinn cross and another on 65 minutes when he tipped his shot over the crossbar. Had a tame effort saved on 85 minutes but almost added a late third on 88 minutes when his shot was blocked at close range by the busy Bialkowski at his left-hand post.       
    Substitutes:
    Ahmed Elmohamady - 4 – Replaced Adomah on 68 minutes and demonstrated why he is currently spending his time on the bench rather than starting when he came on.   
    Jonathan Kodjia - Came on for Whelan on 78 minutes. Looked busy and better than he has done of late in the time he had on the field, but he was not on long enough to gather a rating.    
    Mile Jedinak – Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Replaced El Ghazi on 85 minutes to stiffen our defensive resolve, so that we would hold on to what we had. Not on long enough to earn a rating.  
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  10. John
    James Chester was back to his best last night firstly preventing a Bolton equalizer and then scoring our decisive second goal to send us temporarily to the top of the bottom half of the table and just 4 points behind the top six.         
    We had the perfect start last night with a 4th minute goal that it might have been hoped would lead to a confidence inspiring goal glut against a Bolton side that are currently on the crest of a slump. The visitors instead threatened to draw level and we sat nervously and uncomfortably in our seats until Chester added a second to give us a two-goal cushion and what then became a comfortable win.         
    We played better and lost against QPR, but it was vital that we won this battle between two teams that had both lost their previous two matches. We now need to put a decent run of results together which will not be easy looking at our forthcoming fixtures.  
    A second home win and a second clean sheet at Villa Park for our new management team gives us something to work on. Winning our home games as a minimum will keep us ticking along until the next transfer window when we can look to strengthen where necessary.          
    My player ratings from a game that we deserved to win and did are:
    Orjan Nyland – 4 – He continues to make Pierluigi Gollini look like Dino Zoff! Comfortably collected a mishit 21st minute shot from Oztumer but then embarrassingly dropped a cross 4 minutes later which he then gratefully gathered when it fell at his feet. Seemed to have lost his bearings when he fumbled a harmless 41st minute Oztumer free-kick out for a corner that he should have left to go out. A schoolboy would have been unhappy with doing that under no sort of pressure.
    Did well to get his right foot to a 47th minute Buckley cross from the edge of the six-yard box which was otherwise bound for Donaldson to tap in at close range for an equalizer, but the negatives outweigh this one positive for me. Although he was not often called upon he continues to look to have an error in him waiting to happen. He needs to be doing a lot of work with Neil Cutler in the coming days to address his weaknesses. Is Moreira still not another option?              
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Looks like he can still remember how to give an effective display in his rightful full back role.    
    James Chester - 8 – MOTM – Back to his best and this game will do no harm to his confidence. Did incredibly well to hook a 24th minute Hobbs header off the line with Nyland beaten. Was flagged offside when he headed home a 32nd minute Hourihane free-kick but was given the benefit of the doubt on 57 minutes when he headed a Grealish free-kick in between Alnwick and the post to settle the game.      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 7 – Will get increasingly more comfortable with more games alongside our captain in the centre of our defence. Did well to use his pace to get back and win an 84th minute challenge with Doidge inside of the box which along with the substitute’s heavy touch on the ball denied him a scoring opportunity.             
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Faced little to really test him last night but generally looked competent enough.    
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Played in an unfamiliar deep midfield role in the absence of Thor. Did well enough given that and he rarely fails to do a decent job for us. Could he fill this role again?              
    Albert Adomah - 6 – Hit a 14th minute shot wide of the far post from the edge of the box and a bicycle kick (as allegedly invented by a late Villa chairman) onto the roof of the netting behind the crossbar. Substituted on 73 minutes.    
    John McGinn – 7 – Subject to the sort of rough treatment normally reserved just for Jack last night and the referee was as lenient with challenges on him as they usually are when Jack receives the same uncompromising treatment. Won the ball well from Donaldson on 43 minutes before running forward and hitting a cross towards the far post that was played back across the face of the goal by Kodjia only for Alnwick to get a hand to prevent Abraham getting his head on it. John then stooped to head the loose ball into the side netting having continued his run. He is quality and has an obvious tenacity and will to win.         
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Made a nice 4th minute run into the box which was spotted by Abraham who having turned to leave a defender for dead then played a perfect pass to Jack who took the ball past Alnwick and tucked it inside the near post. Had a 28th minute shot from outside of the area pushed wide by Alnwick.             
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – McGinn played a one-two with Hutton before hitting a 30th minute cross to the far post which Kodjia could only hook well over the bar. Flashed a 69th minute shot wide of the near post having ran into the area after being found by a nice ball from within his own half by Tuanzebe. Not at his powerful and defence threatening best yet.       
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – Maintained a good work rate last night. McGinn found Kodjia who ran into the box and squared the ball to Tammy on 46 minutes, but it was hit a little too firmly and bounced off his right leg to safety as he tried to take a touch when a goal had looked likely. He won’t fail to score too often in games at Villa Park this season.            
    Substitutes:
    Yannick Bolasie – Replaced Adomah on 73 minutes. Not on quite long enough to gather a rating this time. I had expected him to start this one.      
    Scott Hogan – Replaced Abraham on 81 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.     
    Glenn Whelan – Replaced Jack on 90 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  11. John
    One goal is often not enough and so it proved yesterday. Up until Reading’s late equalizer it had looked like we had done just enough to get a win and “just enough” appeared to be all that we had thought that we would need to do.
    Our defence is however porous, and we were not capable of closing out yesterday’s game. We have not managed to keep a clean sheet in the league so far this season. That is a feat that we achieved 16 times last season. Our defence, which was so well organised back then with John Terry in it is now crying out for reinforcement, but time is fast running out for us to bring players in.
    There was the usual late, late goal at Villa Park yesterday but this time it was our visitors who scored it. We are now four points worse off against the opponents that we have played this season when compared to last season’s results and that is how far we are behind the early pace setters Leeds and Boro. We cannot rely on making up ground lost early in the season on those teams that are in the automatic promotion places now. We need to close the gap between us quickly before it grows into a chasm.
    This was a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show. Our best display of this new season against Brentford was followed by this poor display. We still have our unbeaten record, but this draw feels like a defeat. We seemed to approach this game expecting to win it. We need to go at the throat of teams from start to end to earn a victory and not sit back waiting for it to happen. We regularly need to hit fourth gear rather than coast in second. Any team has a puncher’s chance of getting something from a game when there is only a goal in it.  We may have had the possession, but we didn’t do enough with it.
    It is no good raising your game against the better teams in this division and dropping points against the rest. Three points is three points after all and at the final reckoning a win no matter who it came against will remain three points. That 3 points will go towards the final points total that we will need to achieve to finish in the top two. That needs to be our target as we know the play off lottery offers no guarantee of promotion.    
    Reading will be happy with a point for their coming battle to remain in this division. They showed little ambition up front until we went a goal ahead but score they did as have every other side we have met in the league to date. We cannot be satisfied with a point. We dropped points last season in games like this one at Villa Park. We have got to start producing our best on a consistent basis against every team that we face this season because if we do not teams will punish us for not doing so. We cannot afford to take any opponent lightly in this league nor should we or we will risk facing another season in it.
    My player ratings from a game that brought us a disappointing third successive draw are:
    Orjan Nyland – 7 – We may have found a keeper after all. Blocked a close-range effort from a corner by Moore on 44 minutes and then saved a 46th minute Bacuna freekick at his left-hand post. Made a tremendous double save on 82 minutes from Baldock at close range and then from Meite who hit the rebound. Dived to his right and Baldock hit his disputed penalty into the centre of the goal for their late equalizer.  
    Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Another competent performance in what is unlikely to prove his most effective defensive position.     
    James Chester- 6 – One rare error from him cost us dearly yesterday. James had looked a clear favourite to reach a ball into the box first in the 3rd Minute of stoppage time but was outpaced by Sims. Their substitute took the opportunity to crumple to the floor with time running out for his side after Chester had won the ball but our captain in going to ground unnecessarily gave the referee a decision to make and he gave the benefit of any doubt to them. James was otherwise his usual steady self on those occasions that our visitors ventured towards our goal. He was unlucky to see a 12th minute header thunder off the crossbar from a nice Elmo cross.      
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Allowed a Sims cross to go past him and only a terrific double save from Nyland prevented Reading from scoring as a result on 82 minutes. Otherwise gave a decent enough performance but this should not be accepted as being his long-term role.        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Gave his usual consistent level of performance.     
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – Stooped to head home El Ghazi’s perfect cross on 51 minutes and had a good all-around game.            
    Birkir Bjarnason – 7 – Made a good saving tackle on the edge of the box on 9 minutes winning the ball when an opponent was in a threatening position. Gave a very good solid performance throughout.    
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Substituted at half time having picked up a dead leg. Hit an effort back across the face of the goal on 41 minutes.  
    John McGinn – 7 – MOTM – Looked a class above. Used the ball well and kept very involved. Made an early run into the box but his 1st minute shot was held by Mannone.  
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – A promising debut. Looks a wide threat, comfortable on the ball and showed a few tricks. Hit a pin point cross for our goal. Made a nice run into the box on 11 minutes and his shot was deflected into the side netting off Mannone. Anwar made way for Albert on 67 minutes.              
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – What a difference a couple of days can make. From a man of the match 2-goal performance in midweek to this sort of below par display again. Johnny Danger needs some sort of competition for his starting place and was sadly something less than dangerous yesterday. Did not have a great deal of service perhaps but he can do better than this. Flashed a shot over the bar on 62 minutes when others were better placed had he looked to find them. Lost the ball when looking to go it alone on 85 minutes when Hourihane was waiting unmarked inside the box.    
    Substitutes:
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Came on for Jack at half time and did well. We need to try to find a place for him in the starting line-up. His goals come in handy after all. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 50 minutes that Mannone collected comfortably and was found by Adomah inside the box in the 69th minute but he hit his shot wide of the far post.  
    Albert Adomah – 6 - Replaced El Ghazi on 67 minutes. Made a couple of decent runs and looked lively. Cut inside and hit a 73rd minute shot that was easily gathered by Mannone at the near post and then scuffed a shot 3 minutes later.   
    Neil Taylor - Replaced Kodjia on 91 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating. 
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  13. John
    This was an unbelievable, outstanding, incredible, amazing, astonishing, sensational, surprising, unexpected, remarkable, dramatic and thrilling comeback!
    With eight minutes of normal time remaining Sheffield United were temporarily on top of the league and were a seemingly comfortable three goals ahead. By the end of the game that lead had disappeared before their very eyes, their promotion hopes had been blunted, and they found themselves shell shocked and sitting back in third place where they had been at the start of this astounding game.    
    Our visitors bossed the first half on our own patch. They picked up where they had left off at Bramall Lane 5 months earlier and showed how much they wanted to finish the game in top spot by dominating the early stages of the game. We were caught on the back foot and had looked a very poor second best. 
    This extraordinary result was achieved despite the match officials showing that they could match Mr Magoo and Arsene Wenger by not seeing that Sharp was offside when Dowell hit the ball in the build up to their second goal before compounding that error by not noticing that he had gone on to kick the ball out of Kalinic’s hands. That goal had been allowed when we were threatening to get back into the game and looked to have extinguished our hopes as did later decisions to ignore late penalty appeals by Mings and McGinn, but we were determined not to be denied by inept officiating.  
    This exhilarating late, late show admittedly only earned us a point, but this outstanding comeback showed both resilience and character. We might yet look back on this night, on which we snatched a draw from the jaws of defeat as a turning point in our season. It could possibly have as positive an impact on our remaining games as it threatens to have a negative effect on our visitor’s promotion chances. Stranger things have happened, this comeback being just one example. We just need to play for the whole of each game like we did at the end of this one from now onwards!
    My player ratings from a game that took us within one win off the final play-off spot are:
    Lovre Kalinic – 5 – Dived to his left on 5 minutes to block a Baldock shot from the edge of the box. Could only parry Dowell’s 53rd minute shot from outside of the area onto Madine’s head. His header struck the far post and Sharp kicked the ball into the net and out of Lovre’s grasp for his second. Gathered a 77th minute McGoldrick shot from just inside the left edge of the box at the second attempt.   
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Picked up a loose attempted headed clearance just outside the box on 56 minutes but his shot went harmlessly over the bar. Sharp peeled off Hutton to head home a 62nd minute Dowell cross but sometimes a hat-trick is not quite enough!         
    Tommy Elphick - 6 – Made a good challenge on Madine as he looked to turn in a 51st minute Baldock cross. Solid alongside Tyrone.    
    Tyrone Mings – 8 – MOTM – Silenced his vocal critics from South Yorkshire with a towering performance and what had appeared to have been a late nicely headed consolation goal from an 82nd minute Hourihane corner. Pulled down by Basham as he made ground inside the box to reach the ball, but his penalty appeal was ignored by the referee. Comfortable on the ball and played the ball out of defence very well.             
    Neil Taylor – 4 – Made Baldock look like the Brazilian Cafu at times on a night for him to forget. Not a great exhibition of defending again.              
    Mile Jedinak – 4 – Unsurprisingly looked short of pace on his return to the starting line-up.                
    John McGinn – 6 – Screwed a shot wide from the edge of the area on 83 minutes. Held by Stevens on 93 minutes as he looked to reach a ball played into the box by Hourihane, but his penalty appeals fell on deaf ears. Worked hard as usual.
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Hit a 71st minute free kick from the edge of the box that Henderson parried away. Not contributing much other than his undoubted dead ball prowess.     
    Anwar El Ghazi – 5 – Nice to see him tracking back a bit. Still lacking the end product that he produced at WBA though.       
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Some nice touches and looked keen to be involved at times prior to his substitution.           
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – He had drifted well behind the goal line as the corner came over for their first, so he was unable to prevent the ball going over the line when Sharp put in Madine’s far post header back across goal. Elphick hit a shot from the left of the area that Henderson didn’t hold and instead pushed into Tammy’s path at the far post with the inevitable consequences on 86 minutes (goal number 20!). Didn’t enjoy a lot of service but worked hard and his late goal sparked what had seemed fanciful hopes of a draw.    
    Substitutes:
    Andre Green - 6 – Replaced Kodjia on 65 minutes and completed our remarkable comeback with a sweet far post header from a McGinn cross on 94 minutes. Worth a start in my opinion.     
    Glenn Whelan – 6 - Came on for Jedinak on 66 minutes and made a difference to the game.
       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  15. John
    The news that had spread around Villa Park before yesterday’s game that Abraham may well have played his last game for Aston Villa deflated our spirits and the game that followed did nothing to lift the gloom.
    Dean Smith tasted his second defeat at Villa Park yesterday. Swansea recorded their first ever cup win against us. We produced the sort of shambolic performance that was reminiscent of those that we had grown accustomed to witnessing during our relegation season. We were knocked out of this competition in the 3rd Round for a third consecutive year.
    Abraham was the perfect fit for us up front as were we the perfect football club for him. If it turns out that he has played his last game for us, then we will not only have a defence and a midfield to worry about but also a forward line that has been neutered.     
    The depth and quality of our squad had already been found wanting by the absence through injury of Jack and Axel. It was further put to the test by leaving James Chester, Conor Hourihane, Yannick Bolasie and Jonathan Kodjia out of the starting line-up. Who was to know that among those that were selected there were several players that would choose to take the afternoon off as well?           
    Our defence once again conceded goals for fun yesterday and our midfield did little to halt the progress of their opponents through it or to create much themselves in and around the penalty box. What was different was the absence of any threat up front from us. With Abraham in the team there is an expectation that we will score goals as freely as we concede them. Without him, that would be highly unlikely to be the case and yesterday was a worrying sign of things that may be to come. Sadly, the strikers we had on the pitch yesterday did nothing to suggest they would be able to score goals with any sort of regularity should Abraham make a move to a football club in the Black County that is suffering from chronic delusions of grandeur.               
    This sorry capitulation was very hard to endure. We gift wrapped Swansea (who failed to make a similar number of changes to their team in order to try to even things up) a place in the 4th Round and they must have had to pinch themselves to believe how easy we made it for them to score 3 goals without reply yesterday.
    We are now free to concentrate on the league and this abject performance, which led to merited boos at the final whistle will also give our players a weekend’s break from the rigours of football on 4th Round weekend!          
    My player ratings from a game that extended our FA Cup years of hurt into a 62nd year are:
    Lovre Kalanic – 6 – Let’s give him a little more than 90 minutes to prove his true worth to us. Peter Shilton would have struggled behind this defence (although he is getting on in years now)! Lovre conceded his first goal 2 minutes into his debut when he blocked a low cross but unluckily the ball rebounded into Baker-Richardson and was deflected in off his shin. Turned a 32nd minute shot from outside of the box from Roberts past the post for a corner. Beaten low to his right for their second and third goals. Made decent saves on 76 and 83 minutes to prevent the score looking even more humiliating.                
    James Bree – 5 – Will have and has had better games than this one.         
    Alan Hutton - 4 – He’s not a left back and he’s certainly not a central defender either. Playing him in this position lost us the forward runs that he makes from wide positions and it did nothing to make our already suspect defence look any more solid. Fer ran for and crossed a loose ball following a challenge with him to Fulton to score their third as Alan stood statuesque in the centre of the penalty area.          
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Headed a 74th minute Lansbury corner wide of the far post.              
    Neil Taylor – 4 – Looked far from comfortable on his return to the first team.            
    Glenn Whelan – 4 – I would have anticipated that Glenn rather than Bjarnason would have been rested for this one.                
    John McGinn – 7 – MOTM – It was surprising that John played the full 90 minutes yesterday (he was the only player to really do so). He is another player that I think would have benefited from a rest, Dean said post game that he would get one when his next booking presents him with a 2-game suspension and therefore an enforced rest! Showed his usual tenacity and work ethic along with his understandable frustration on 92 minutes when Lansbury played a free kick to him and he blasted it over the bar.
    Albert Adomah – 4 – A couple of times early on, I thought that he might just produce something of his old self yesterday, but this ended up being another disappointing afternoon. Curled a 54th minute shot over the bar and Mulder kept out an 80th minute attempt by him.    
    Callum O’Hare – 6 – Taken out of the firing line on 55 minutes. Like Doyle-Hayes, I think we have a player here, but they both need games and experience. This was an experience that Callum will have been able to take little good from. Showed promise at times along with his inexperience on other occasions. Would benefit from a loan in much the same way that Jack once did in my opinion.          
    Anwar El Ghazi – 4 – He looked like he really didn’t want to be there most of the time yesterday. Can do and needs to do better than this on a consistent basis. Was ball watching and failed to pick up Dyer who ran behind him onto Fer’s nice through ball before slotting the ball past Kalanic.             
    Scott Hogan - 5 – Lacking in the confidence that scoring goals would give him, but he is not looking likely to go on a scoring run any time soon, so it is a bit of a Catch 22 situation. Lost possession on the edge of the box which led to their opener. Turned a 1st minute El Ghazi cross wide of the near post and 5 minutes later hit an Adomah cross goalward which hit Mulder on the line rather than the back of the net. Kodjia touched the ball back to him on 62 minutes but his attempt was blocked at the near post by a defender. Had one of these gone in it might have shaken us out of our lethargy.           
    Substitutes:
    Jonathan Kodjia - 5 – Replaced O’Hare on 55 minutes and didn’t live up to his nickname in the time he had on the pitch.
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Came on for Whelan on 60 minutes and appeared to want to take the opportunity he was offered to show that he could do a job for us in the future. Hit a 64th minute shot from outside of the box that flew wide of the left post. Did well enough on a day that too many of those around him did not.     
    Keinan Davis – Replaced Hogan on 72 minutes. Held the ball up well again but he won’t score with the regularity that we need someone to and needs to play alongside another striker. Not on quite long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  16. John
    We now have our place in the top six. The battle is to stay there. Derby and Bristol City may have a game and two games in hand of us respectively, but we have the points on the board. City must also visit Villa Park and neither of these teams are currently winning games for fun, are they? The likes of Preston, Forest and Wednesday are behind us, so they would need to have a better finish than we do to the season, in order to overhaul us. As Ron Saunders once said at the business end of a very successful season, “Do you want to bet against us?”  
    Yesterday’s fourth successive victory has taken us into the play off places. Who would have thought that likely just a couple of weeks ago? The win has left us just a point behind Middlesbrough, who must now fear being overtaken by the team that knocked them out of the play offs last season and completed the double over them yesterday. They are in our sights now and so is promotion!
    Eight games of this season remain, or could it be 11? The international break has come at a time when we are on a tremendous run that looks like it could sweep us into the end of season play offs. We must use this break to our advantage. Let’s hope that players who are on international duty return to us fit and that a couple of those who are currently on the treatment table, near fitness during this period of club inactivity.       
    We currently have the look of a team that is putting together a late run to make the play offs, that other clubs will not relish meeting in them. Clubs that enter the play offs on the crest of a run of good results, often take the promotion spot from teams that have finished above them over the course of the season. We could be that club this year. If we can play as well as we have done in the last 4 games, in our final 8 games of the season and then do the same in the 3 play-off games, it just could be on, after all!        
    The high winds and second half rain were not conducive to good football. Tony Pulis must have welcomed the conditions then and our visitors from Teesside might well have been reminded of a summer’s day back at home! They may have come to Villa Park to park the bus, but they left it in the club car park and their usually solid defence was breached three times. Villa were not to be distracted by the weather conditions. We dominated this game from start to finish. If it had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped before we applied the coup de grace on the 88th minute. I don’t want to tempt fate, but it seems that our defence might now have reached the point where a two-goal lead can prove to be enough to secure a win.       
    My player ratings from a game that left us surprisingly and unexpectedly optimistic, about our play off prospects are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Not unduly troubled by the visitor’s attack but appeared both confident and assured.   
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – Another solid performance from Elmo, who is doing more than a bit to make our defence look increasingly and reassuringly solid.          
    Kortney Hause - 7 – Solid, unflustered and looking increasingly confident, alongside Tyrone in the centre of our defence.    
    Tyrone Mings – 8 – His towering presence in the centre of the defence is increasingly impressive. He has so much time on the ball, is unrushed, confident and is the rock on which our defence is currently built. His was an inspired signing!             
    Neil Taylor – 7 – This was a no-nonsense defensive performance, which is exactly what we have been looking for from him. Keep it up Tayls!               
    Glenn Whelan – 8 – MOTM – Didn’t put a foot wrong yesterday. I can’t recall him playing better in our shirt than this. He was the cog in our midfield engine and allowed Jack and John to move forward knowing that he was on hand behind them. Hit a 52nd minute shot from the edge of the box wide of the left-hand post. It must have been nice for him to hear the crowd acknowledging his tremendous performance yesterday.           
    Andre Green – 6 – Substituted after 65 minutes having not over troubled Friend on the right.  
    John McGinn – 8 – Scored one and made one, what’s not to like? Headed a 1st minute El Ghazi cross over. Hit a nice ball to find El Ghazi in space on the edge of the box for our first. Grealish played a ball inside for Abraham that ran past him for John to pick up and run with to the edge of the box before hitting our second into the right-hand corner of the net.        
    Jack Grealish – 8 – Hit the foot of the near post on 62 minutes, having ran inside the box following a short corner. Gave another captain’s performance, led by example, teased opponents with his skills and his presence created space for his teammates. Had a 36th minute shot from the edge of the box deflected wide on 36 minutes.              
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – He looks a little like Ronaldo to me from a distance (I must get my eyesight checked), he doesn’t play much like him yet, but this was a bright, encouraging performance from Anwar. Hit our opener on 28 minutes, when he was found unmarked on the edge of the box by McGinn. He proceeded to run into the box and slot the ball past the keeper and into the far corner of the net nicely. Grealish made a strong run forward from inside his own half, before finding him just inside the box but his 50th minute shot was hit just wide of the far post.                
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – Worked hard, stayed busy made some nice forward runs and led the line well. The only thing that was missing was his 22nd goal and that will come another day. Hit a 61st minute ball from Elmo over on 61 minutes and a shot from the edge of the box wide of the right-hand post 3 minutes later.       
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Replaced Green on 65 minutes and hit our third 23 minutes later, when he tapped home from close range after Randolph had been unable to hold a shot from Davis.
    Jonathan Kodjia - 6 – Replaced Tammy on 72 minutes.       
    Keinan Davis - 6 – Made a rare first team appearance yesterday, coming off the bench to replace El Ghazi on 75 minutes. Elmo found him on the left of the box on 88 minutes, from where he got into a shooting position before curling a shot towards the far post that Randolph obligingly spilled for our third.  
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  20. John
    We witnessed history being made yesterday. In years to come the question will be asked, do you remember when our great club broke their record of consecutive league wins in 2019?
    That record had remained unbroken since 1910. That’s beyond living memory, so we had to refer to the record books to read about that winning run and that grand old team. In the years to come, you will be able to say that you were there and that you witnessed this incredible run.
    You can tell your children, your grandchildren and anyone else who is prepared to listen, that you remember this splendid team, this great run and had the pleasure of seeing Jack Grealish, John McGinn, Tammy Abraham et all play in the claret and blue. Those players have earned their place in Villa history as did Harry Hampton, Billy Walker, Pongo Waring and Eric Houghton, before them in bygone seasons.          
    We secured our place in the end of season promotion playoffs yesterday, with two games of the season to spare. Only in our wildest dreams, did any of us see this winning run coming at the beginning of March. As our boss said after yesterday’s game, “If you had asked me 11 games ago would we go and win the next 10, I would have thought you were a little bit crackers.” 
    Now let’s extend this winning run to 15 games! This superb run merits a joyful ending. For it not now to end with our promotion, would be too cruel on this team who have worked so hard to claim their ticket to the play off lottery. For a second successive season to end in despair would be beyond abhorrent.            
    We have played better than we did yesterday during this run of wins. Millwall are always a tough nut to crack and were both determined and uncompromising, as they looked for a point to assist their relegation fight. Although not at our scintillating best, we were still clearly the better of the two teams and on another day the score might have better reflected this. As it was, for the second successive home game the visitor’s man of the match was their goalkeeper, but once again he still finished on the losing side.               
    Villa didn’t need to go into fourth gear to win this one. We eased to victory without adding a second goal, that would have left us sitting more comfortably near the end. Our team have now developed the confidence and composure to see games out without undue cause for concern though. We seemed perhaps, to be conserving something for the decisive games that are to come, as we eased to what was ultimately a comfortable tenth win in front of a packed Villa Park.           
    My player ratings from a game that sealed a Happy Easter for us and that meant that the play offs are coming are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – Produced a very good save on 15 minutes, pushing a Wallace shot from outside of the box, out for a corner to his right. He then had a moment of madness, when he ran out to but didn’t get near a 71st minute floated free kick into the box, taken from just inside our half by Pearce which was thankfully headed wide by Cooper.   
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – Elmo gets better with each game and looks increasingly composed, confident and reliable.          
    Mile Jedinak - 7 – Mile did a tremendous job again in the centre of our defence yesterday in the absence of both Axel and Kortney. He was as uncompromising and determined as our opponent’s defenders were and that is saying quite a lot.      
    Tyrone Mings – 8 – MOTM – So steady and so composed at the heart of our defence. Didn’t put a foot wrong and oozed confidence. He plays a crucial role in making this team tick. 
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Did well again and has played his part in this fantastic winning run.                
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Substituted after an hour no doubt with the intention of preserving his energies for those battles that are yet to come.              
    Glenn Whelan – 7 – Substituted on 60 minutes, most likely for the same reason that Albert was. Got down bravely where the boots were flying on 16 minutes, to head away a corner that had fallen to Pearce who had played it back across the face of the goal. Provides solidity for our midfield.    
    John McGinn – 8 – Did well to avoid a booking that would have threated an untimely play-off suspension. Whelan played a neat ball to him inside of the box, but his 41st minute shot was blocked at the near post by a defender. Had a hand in many of our chances.           
    Jack Grealish – 8 – A welcome return for the player whose return to the side as captain following a lengthy injury, sparked the outstanding run that broke a long-standing club record yesterday. Green played the ball back to him and his 68th minute shot from near the penalty spot was only kept out by Martin’s legs. McGinn found him near the centre circle on 72 minutes, Jack ran on to the edge of the box before hitting a shot which deflected off a defender just inches past the keeper’s right-hand post.  
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – Hit the cross that Jonathan put away for the winner. Headed a 9th minute Grealish corner wide at the far post and brought a defender down in getting up for it. McGinn played a nice ball for Anwar to run onto, he looked to curl a shot past Martin and inside of the far post, but Martin got down well to push the ball around the post on 90 minutes. 
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Came in for the injured 25-goal Tammy and hit our winner in the 30th minute. Pounced on a misjudged loose back pass a minute earlier, but his heavy first touch enabled Martin to just touch the ball first as they met on the edge of the box and the chance was gone. Made a nice run inside the box on 56 minutes running between two defenders before hitting his shot wide of the far post. Jack found El Ghazi on the left side of the box and his nicely hit 30th minute cross, was hit home by Johnny Danger to his obvious delight.          
    Substitutes:
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Replaced Whelan on 60 minutes and did his bit in the middle.
    Andre Green – 7 - Came on for Albert on 60 minutes and looked good. Grealish found him on the right of the box on 66 minutes but his shot from a tight angle hit the side netting. Hit a sweet 84th minute volley after an El Ghazi shot had deflected off a defender towards him, only to be denied a goal by a great reflex save by Martin. McGinn swept the ball right for Andre who ran inside of the box and hit a 90th minute shot that deflected over the bar off a defender.         
    Keinan Davis – 6 - Replaced Johnny Danger on 76 minutes and again did his bit, showing some surprisingly deft touches with the ball at his feet.       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  21. John
    At half time it was a question of how many goals that we would win by rather than whether we would win. They appeared to be just what we had needed to face last night namely a team that had less confidence and were in worse form than ourselves. At the end we proved to be just the team for a club at the bottom of the league to have faced. At half time it was Alex Neil’s managerial future that looked likely to be under more threat than Steve Bruce’s at the end of the game. What a difference a referee can make!    
    Preston had offered no threat up front and little resistance at the back in the first half, but a spot of dressing room half time cup throwing had them taking the game to us at the start of the second period. The referee’s subsequent intervention when he gave the visitors a very soft penalty and then compounded that by sending off our captain left us in disarray. Chester’s challenge on Nmecha was an innocuous one and if the referee really felt compelled to award a penalty then that should surely have been adequate punishment.      
    Had it not been for that sending off we might well have been in the top six rather than two points off the play off places this morning. I suspect that we would probably have weathered Preston’s early second half efforts and cruised to a comfortable win, but it wasn’t to be. Had we been in any sort of form we would have been out of sight before Chester’s dismissal because the Preston defence made our own look almost solid up until then!  
    The referee changed the course of this game, but we too readily surrendered the initiative when we went down to ten men last night. Other teams go down to ten men and it doesn’t have the same devastating impact upon them as it did on us yesterday. We should have tried to add another goal when we were still a goal ahead rather than negatively rely on a defence that is brittle even with Chester in it to hold out for the rest of the game. When we did move forward in stoppage time their defence showed itself to be as leaky as it had been in the first half. We left it too late to find out.        
    If there is one player and one position that we cannot afford to lose a player for most of a second half and for another game due to an unwarranted suspension, then it’s James Chester and our central defence.     
    Why did a player who has scored one goal in 7 years step up to take a vital penalty? Our designated penalty taker may have already been substituted and others may have been sitting on the bench but Bolasie who had already scored wanted to take it and surely Jack or McGinn should have also been ahead of Whelan in the queue to take the spot kick? They should have prised the ball out of the substitute’s hands.            
    My player ratings from a game that we looked like winning at half time and then did again with the last kick of the game but didn’t are:
    Mark Bunn – 4 – Surprisingly it was he rather than Moreira who replaced Nyland and Bunn doesn’t inspire too much confidence either does he? Came out of his area on 24 minutes to get his feet to the ball before Robinson and blocked a cross at his near post on 50 minutes. Sent the wrong way from the spot by Johnson for their first on 56 minutes. Gallagher’s 79th minute free kick went past a poorly lined up wall and our keeper for the day left too much room to his left to allow their second to creep between him and the near post. Their 86th minute third from Moult appeared to go straight past him. Gathered a 66th waist high shot from the left edge of the box from Robinson and kept out a 79th minute. Perhaps Burnley could spare us one of their three keepers in January?  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and had a decent enough game.     
    James Chester - 6 – His sending off left me wishing we had Mile available on the bench to bring on.      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Finally played in the centre and looked well worthy of retaining his place last night both with and without our captain alongside him. Moved a loose ball forward to Bolasie to hit in our third.           
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Might have got to the corner that led to their third.     
    Birkir Bjarnason – 6 – Looked comfortable and increasingly effective in the middle in the first half. Pushed to the ground at the far post to ensure he did not get his head to McGinn’s late corner and give us our late penalty.              
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Faded in the second half but he was not alone in that.     
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Hit a 14th minute shot from the edge of the box over the bar. Showed some fleeting signs of still having the ability to run a game in the first half.           
    John McGinn – 6 – His challenge on the touchline allowed Abraham to run on to hit home our second. Has not quite seemed to take games by the scruff of the neck in the way he had been doing of late but it’s asking a lot of him to do it on his own every time.    
    Tammy Abraham – 6 – Scored our second and what should have been decisive goal on 37 minutes when he ran into the box from the left and stroked the ball past Maxwell into the corner of the net. Unlucky to be substituted on 56 minutes following the sending off to make way for a defender.             
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Had a 9th minute downward header from a Hourihane free-kick blocked at the near post and was found by Elmo inside the box on 16 minutes but his shot was deflected by Maxwell at the near post across the face of the goal and out for a corner. Scored our opener on 26 minutes when Hourihane swept the ball wide to Elmo whose cross was headed past the keeper and into the far corner of the net by Jonathan. Had unusually done some work in his own half in the first quarter of the match less involved in the second half prior to being substituted.     
    Substitutes:
    James Bree – 6 – Replaced Abraham on 56 minutes. Got a good block in on Fisher at the near post on 81 minutes.   
    Yannick Bolasie – 6 – MOTM - Came on for Kodjia on 74 minutes and hit our 91st minute equalizer in at the near post. He must be starting games now.   
    Glenn Whelan – 4 - Replaced Hourihane on 83 minutes and made a difference but unfortunately not a positive one. Showed acceptance of responsibility by taking the spot kick that should have given us a late winner on 96 minutes but his decision cost us the game because his penalty was poorly hit to the keeper’s left and was just begging to be saved. Just because the ball was in your hands when the penalty was awarded does not mean you have to take the penalty Glenn when you are ill equipped to do so!   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  23. John
    What a game that was! It’s not very often that Villa draw a game 5-5. The last time we did so was way back in 1966 when we came back from 5-1 down to draw 5-5 at White Hart Lane. Tony Hateley scored 4 of our goals against Spurs on that day. On this occasion it was Tammy Abraham that did the same.       
    When the dust has settled, we can reflect on the positives and negatives to be taken from this game. We scored 5 goals but conceded 5 as well. We pulled goals back to equalize on three occasions but couldn’t hold onto a lead against 10 men when we had eventually got one. We are unbeaten over the last 4 games, but our winning run came to an end last night. Our attack was impressive, but our defence was shambolic. Tammy Abraham claimed the match ball but wasn’t on a winning side. The referee correctly sent off Figueiredo, but his allocated stoppage time failed to take full account of the 4 minutes that had elapsed between that incident and the resultant free-kick being taken.       
    When we found ourselves two goals down after just 6 minutes, I would have gladly taken a point from this game but when we had drawn level within 8 minutes, I had hoped that we would be able to complete the comeback and claim all three points. Doubt crept in when we went behind again on the 22nd minute and then again on the 51st minute but hope was reignited when we equalized again on a second and third occasion on 36 and 71 minutes. When they went down to 10 men on 68 minutes and we then took the lead for the first time in the game with only 15 minutes of normal time remaining it seemed the game would be ours. This game was anything other than predictable though and we have a habit of not capitalizing on teams being a man down as well as not being able to see out games when we sit back so there proved to be a sting in the tail.       
    It was perhaps inevitable that Joe Lolley and Lewis Grabban would make an impact on the game last night. A brace of goals from a player that is s Villa fan himself and another from a striker who has had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus one of which was us in the second half of last season was a little too much of an impact for my liking.              
    Forest scored with every on target shot that they had. Our defence is clearly our Achilles heel and Forest ran through it like a knife through butter last night. We should have had a penalty in first half stoppage time and had two late goals ruled out for hand ball and offside It was a game that neither team really deserved to lose but I could have just about have coped with our visitors being the team that did. We could now do with a win at Boro to make up for dropping two points at home last night albeit in a highly entertaining goal fest.     
    My player ratings from a game that will live long in our memories are:
    Orjan Nyland – 3 – Beaten by all 5 of the on-target shots that he faced last night. Grabban hit the ball between the space he had left between himself and the near post for their fifth. He was beaten by shots from Grabban and Cash whose runs into the box were not picked up for their second and third goals. Watched rooted to the ground as Lolley’s well hit shot from distance went past him. No positives to be taken from this at all as any one of us could not have done any worse.          
    Alan Hutton – 5 – His cross late in first half stoppage time was handled by Cash but this was ignored by the referee.  His unnecessarily hot-headed reaction following the sending off led to a booking that will see him miss the Boro game and we can ill afford that.    
    James Chester - 4 – Was grounded near the half way line when Grabban started his run into the box that nobody else picked up thus leaving him unmarked and in space to turn in their opening goal. Remains alarmingly below his very best and we are so reliant on his leadership. Is he still not fully fit?      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 5 – Grabban squeezed his last goal past Axel and inside the near post to secure a point for the visitors. The best of our defenders last night.               
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Hit a couple of decent crosses and played a one two on the edge of the box with Abraham but his 74th minute shot was blocked. Cleverly found El Ghazi for our fifth. His defending was a cause for concern at times though.     
    Yannick Bolasie – 7 – Made a nice run into the box and was brought down by Robinson for our penalty. Always a threat on his first start for us.               
    John McGinn – 8 – Hit a 30-yard shot on 14 minutes that Pantilimon was unable to hold, Kodjia was first to the loose ball but his effort was cleared off the line only for the ball to go in off Abraham’s outstretched leg for the first of our equalizers. Hit another good shot from outside of the area following a lovely turn on 39 minutes that Pantilimon was only able to parry away. Hit a sweet cross 2 minutes into first half stoppage time that Abraham headed straight to the relieved Pantilimon. Not fully fit and therefore not able to offer the sort of barrier he normally would in preventing opponents running through us.
    Conor Hourihane – 4 – Outpaced by Carvalho who ran on into the box and hit their second past Nyland as both Hutton and Axel tried to get near enough to make a challenge. Hit a dangerous 48th minute cross that was cleared for a corner by Dawson with Kodjia in attendance. Finding the defensive part of his current role difficult to get a grip on.    
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Good when we were moving forward and always looking to find a pass, but Jack needs to remember to track back and be a nuisance to opponents when we don’t have the ball.       
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Not quite able to connect with a nice 2nd minute cross from McGinn. Grealish played a nice ball through to him on 14 minutes, he ran into the box and had a shot blocked by a defender. Hit the shot that led to our second.             
    Tammy Abraham – 10 – MOTM – Scored four and could have had another. Headed in a sweet Bolasie cross at the far post for our first on 11 minutes. Was in the right place at the right time to get in the way of Grabban’s attempted clearance 3 minutes later. Made it a first half hat-trick when he hit his 36th minute penalty down the middle as Pantilimon dived to his left. Headed home a 71st minute Grealish free kick at the near post for his fourth. Scoring goals for fun which is good because we were conceding them as fast as he could score them last night!      
    Substitutes:
    Anwar El Ghazi – 7 – Replaced Kodjia on 66 minutes. Hit what could have been our winner 9 minutes after coming on when Taylor found him on the edge of the box and he hit a splendid shot into the left-hand corner of the net. He was booked on 87 minutes for using his hand to put an Elmo cross into the net to reprise Maradona’s infamous 1986 Hand of God moment.
    Glenn Whelan – Came on for McGinn on 79 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.     
    Ahmed Elmohamady – Replaced Bolasie on 83 minutes. A floated cross from Taylor deflected off a defender’s head to him on 93 minutes but Pantilimon parried it and was relieved when Abraham was flagged offside having forced home the loose ball on the goal line. Not on long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
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