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John

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  1. John
    Goals from Tammy Abraham and Yannick Bolasie on their home debuts gave us a much-needed win last night.
    This was not a scintillating performance from us. Our visitors rarely threatened our brittle defence and we eased to a routine victory without looking particularly good.   
    The win was comfortable enough and it was achieved without us having to hit our stride. We didn’t look fluent last night, and we have a team of individuals that have yet to become a team but when that does happen the rest of the league had better beware because we have some pretty good individuals.    
    Last night’s win gives the team something to build upon and it has lifted us up to sixth in the table. That is not too shabby given our performances to date. Another win on Saturday could give the team an opportunity to put together a string of positive results that could in turn cement our place in the top six and install some much-needed confidence into them.  
    We played 4-2-4 last night which was a good and unexpected decision. The Millers arrived at Villa Park looking to take a point. They didn’t really look like doing so once we went in front but until Bolasie headed home our second there was always a danger that they would steal a point with an equalizer against the run of play as Reading had done before them. One goal is never a comfortable lead and we really need to kick on once we go in front so that our games do not always go down to the wire. Wood was too close for comfort on 77 minutes with a header that went wide of the post, but our second goal thankfully made the game safe just 2 minutes later.      
    This result will temporarily ease some of the pressure at Villa Park. The rare clean sheet will show our defence that it is not impossible to go through a game without conceding as will our two goals demonstrate that if we make the chances we have the players who can take them. We are not yet a well oiled smoothly running promotion machine, but we might yet in the fullness of time become one.
    My player ratings from a run of the mill win against The Millers are:
    Orjan Nyland – 6 – A quiet event free evening.  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Did well on dropping back to a role that I consider that he is more suited to also chipped in with a pin point cross that resulted in our second.     
    James Chester- 6 – Solid on those occasions that our defence was tested. Headed wide from a McGinn cross on 64 minutes.      
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – A quiet night for our defence but he was commanding in the air and did well in this central defensive role that we insist in playing him in on this occasion. Headed an 81st minute Bolasie corner harmlessly wide. Will Mile be rested for Axel on Saturday if we choose to try a little squad rotation?        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Another reliable performance on the left.     
    Anwar El Ghazi – 6 – Substituted on 73 minutes having given a decent enough display.              
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – Earned his place with that free-kick at Blackburn and performed well on his merited return to our starting line-up. Hit a 45th minute free-kick wide of the post. Hit a 66th minute shot that Rodak kept out at his near post.    
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Some welcome signs of a return to form last night. Could it be that he had needed some time to become familiar with having other players around him that can make things happen as well as himself? He is also not seeing as much of the ball as he was and may need time to become more accustomed to his current role. Nicely found by Kodjia but his 19th minute shot went past the far post and Abraham was just unable to reach it to turn it in. Curled a 72nd minute shot just wide of the far post. 
    John McGinn – 8 – MOTM – A determined ball winner and he uses it so very well. Had an 87th minute shot from the edge of the box gathered by Rodak. Comfortably our most valuable player last night.   
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – Looked sharp, pacey and keen. Scored our opener on 27 minutes. Grealish found Kodjia on the edge of the box who played a sweet ball past 2 defenders to Tammy who hit the ball past the keeper and into the corner of the net. He did some nice work prior to finding El Ghazi who hit the ball onto the netting on the top of the goal on 15 minutes. He looked very good and will get better.             
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Showed some nice touches and his partnership with Abraham looks to have some potential. Had a decent 1st minute cross pushed away by Rodak who also kept out his attempt to convert McGinn’s cross from close range 3 minutes later. Headed an 18th minute Grealish cross over the bar.   
    Substitutes:
    Yannick Bolasie – 6 – Came on for El Ghazi on 73 minutes and sealed the win with a determined 82nd minute diving header from a nice Elmo cross. Looks ready for a start on Saturday.  
    Albert Adomah – Replaced Kodjia on 81 minutes. Not on long enough to earn a rating.   
    James Bree - Replaced Abraham on 86 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating but it is nice to know he is still in contention for a place. 
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  3. John
    This game had offered us an opportunity to climb out of the bottom three. But we do not beat Stoke at home do we?

    A third successive defeat at Villa Park against yesterday’s visitors has seen us go into the international break with just the two hapless North Eastern clubs keeping us off the bottom. We cannot rely on those two teams losing each week and at one point yesterday it seemed they might not.

    A worrying four point gap has also now opened between Villa and the three teams who are now directly above us. Our much changed team needs to gel together quickly to stop it growing any wider.      

    We chose to start the game with the creativity of both Grealish and Gil sitting on the bench. No doubt that decision was made to try to avoid defeat by attempting to match our visitor’s rugged midfield. But this was a game that we needed to be trying to win and it was Stoke we were playing not Barcelona!

    This might well prove to have been a 6-pointer at the end of the season and you really have to beat the teams that are around you to stay up. I guess we also started with three central defenders to try to strengthen what has been a leaky back four. But playing five at the back left our midfield under pressure against a team that are strong in that area. Changing to a four at the back half way through the game also created the hole in the centre of our defence that led to their winner ten minutes after the re-start.  

    Our first half performance yesterday was a passable interpretation of those grim ones that we had given against WBA and Small Heath recently. We again improved in the second half (it would have been difficult to have not done so) but we did not improve enough to ever really look like winning or drawing or scoring in this one.

    Since winning on the first day of the season at newly promoted Bournemouth we have only beaten teams from the lower leagues in the cup. We could only manage a draw against Sunderland who are one of the two teams that have gathered fewer points than we have to date. We really need to start winning the odd game before 40 points begins to look a very big end of season point target if it does not already.

    My player ratings from a game that has left us still on just four points and on a run of four successive defeats are:

    Brad Guzan – 6 – So nearly became another keeper to be embarrassingly caught off his line by Adam whose 18th minute effort from inside his own area was pushed away with one hand as Brad scrambled back from the edge of the box. Amautovic was nicely found by wing-back Johnson and ran into the gaping hole between Crespo and Richards before putting his shot into the net off the post and past Brad’s left hand for their 55th minute winner. Other than that a quiet afternoon against visitors that I think would have happily settled for a point at 3pm.                                                                      

    Alan Hutton – 5 – Surely Bacuna would have been the choice here had we been looking to play wing backs to get forward? Alan worked hard as he always does but he looked uncomfortable in this more forward role that exposed his difficulty in getting enough good crosses over. Alan was left for dead by Amautovic in the build up to their goal.                              

    Jose Angel Crespo – 5 – Made his debut following injury and looked solid enough given this was his first full game. Jose was given the benefit of the doubt when it appeared he was at best an inch or two behind Amautovic when his 33rd minute effort was ruled offside. 

    Joleon Lescott – 4 – Joleon was substituted at half time as he was against Small Heath. He gave some cause for concern before he made way for Jack and did not seem particularly at-ease playing as part of a back three. He has not had the sort of solid start he would have hoped to have made with the club he supports and needs our support to try to get over what has been a surprisingly shaky start.     

    Michah Richards – 7 – MOTM - Micah gave another solid defensive performance and must surely soon come into England consideration again given the strong start he has had with us. Got a vital block in on Diouf as he was about to pull the trigger inside the box on 4 minutes. Really should have done better when he was free at the far post on 56 minutes but headed Vertout’s cross wide. Gana played the ball back to Micah on 77 minutes who twice played one-twos with Ayew before going down inside the box the ball ran to Ayew and then to Veretout both of whom had their efforts blocked.                                

    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Jordan’s pace got him out of trouble a couple of times. He posed a threat when getting forward and was solid enough in defence.                    

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Picked up the ball near the centre circle on 39 minutes ran between two opponents on his way and nearly did the same on the edge of the box before going down inside the box when possibly unfairly challenged by Cameron.  

    Ashley Westwood - 6 – The best of our midfield performers for me yesterday.                  

    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Became more effective as the game wore on after a slow start. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 40 minutes which went harmlessly wide. He does get into some decent shooting positions but his shots are too often inaccurate.

    Scott Sinclair – 4 – Has lost his earlier goal touch and can be much more effective than this.      

    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Did not get the sort of service that he needs to get us goals. Made a good run to the edge of the box from just inside his own half but his shot was routinely gathered by Butland.                 

    Substitutes:

    Jack Grealish – 6 – His belated introduction at half time did not quite spark an upturn in performance of the magnitude that we needed to claim the points yesterday. He has had better games for us and has been more influential in games for us but we are without doubt a better team with him than without him.  

    Carles Gil – 6 - Replaced Sinclair on 58 minutes. Ran at players and is a player that can create chances given the opportunity to do so. Made a difference when he came on giving Stoke some causes for concern as did Jack that were few and far between prior to their introduction.   

    Jordan Ayew – Replaced Westwood on 75 minutes and was not on the field long enough to gather a rating but was on long enough to show he should have been. Gil found him nicely inside the box but his shot hit the side netting rather than the back of the net. No doubt had Gabby been fit a place would have been found for him. I think we need to start doing the same for Jordan because he offers us something we are lacking up front and threatens to make things happen.  

    Stay up Villa!
    John Lewis


  5. John
    This was admittedly only a friendly but this game gave little cause for optimism for the season that is ahead of us. This performance was uncomfortably similar to many of the displays that we gave last season and those around me were openly questioning what differences there actually has been on the pitch itself rather than off it.
    We had the best of the game until they hit their equalizer on the hour mark. But our defence suddenly looked shaky as it had done more often than not last season. The visitors hit a second on 74 minutes and added another two minutes later to run out comfortable winners.
    We looked weak at the back, lacked creativity in the middle and lacked a cutting edge up front. It only took a goal to see the frailties and insecurities of last season re-emerge. These are not new problems and there is a lot of work to be done to turn things around. Players need to be signed and we need to start those signings with a striker to play alongside Ayew.
    Can we progress with much the same squad that got us relegated last season? I doubt it very much. We need a team that will not think the worst when we go behind and will not have the memory of last season hanging over most of their heads when they start each match. The league we face will not have teams of the standard that we faced last season but it will have teams that will relish the prospect of beating us by giving it everything. This new season has to be better than last and we cannot linger in this division. We need to start well and to expect to win games rather than to lose them. We also need to do what is needed both off and on the pitch to make that happen. This game demonstrated that we may still be at best a work in progress.  
    My player ratings from a game that did little to lift our pre-season hopes are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – MOTM – Looked confident, commanded his area well and distributed the ball effectively. Parried a shot from Fischer on 60 minutes but Negredo was left in space to hit home the rebound for their equalizer. Left exposed for the other two he conceded.  
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Worked hard and put a foot in as he can be relied upon to do. Made his usual forward runs but they continue to lack an end product.
    Tommy Elphick - 5 – Will now be aware of the job he faces in trying to steady the troubled and anxious defence he finds himself now in.
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Looked commanding in the first half but somewhat less so in the second. Climbed highest at the far post to head home a 15th minute cross from Bacuna.  
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Hit some decent crosses but lost possession in the build up to their first.  
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Maintaining his fitness pending his impending move to a Champions League outfit. I have to question what he has shown to be still starting games for us.
    Gary Gardner – 5 – A steady first half performance.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Needs to stand out more in this sort of midfield line-up than he did yesterday.
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Looked more confident and committed than he did last season but he needs to try to take games like this by the scruff of the neck and make things happen.
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Jordan started well enough but he failed to sustain that level of performance as the game wore on and looked to be lacking in motivation at times which is a concern. Forced a save from Valdes on 14 minutes and touched the ball inches wide of the post from close range on 38 minutes.   
    Rudy Gestede – 4 – Lacked pace as well as movement and I did not see anything yesterday that suggested he will terrorise defences this season or provide us with the goals that we need to mount a promotion challenge.   
    Substitutes:
    Aaron Tshibola – 6 - Replaced Gardner at half time and looked solid enough. 
    Andre Green – 6 – Replaced Bacuna on 75 minutes and showed some nice touches. For me he should be starting games in front of the player that he replaced yesterday.  
    Ciaran Clark – Replaced Baker on 89 minutes so did not have enough time to earn any rating.
    Jordan Amavi  - Made a welcome if brief return from his long-term injury when replacing Cissokho on 89 minutes. He also had insufficient time to get a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  6. John
    Two home defeats in four days has been very, very hard to watch. The season is in tatters and all we have left for is to secure our safety. We currently have a 7-point cushion between the bottom three and ourselves but that gap will not last forever if our results do not start improving.
    Barnsley now have as many wins away from home this season as we have wins at home and away. Yesterday’s visitors are also thirteen points above us. They play as a team. We play as a bunch of individuals. They wanted to prove something to the players they recently sold to us in the same way that Brentford and Forest did.   
    Our visitors started strongly but we then started to create chances and look the better team before referee Eltringham intervened by awarding a dubious penalty. As a team that is short of confidence and belief that was the last thing we needed. Having conceded another, we then pulled a goal back just before half time. That should have provided us with a platform and a momentum to seek a win or at the very least a draw from this game in the second half. Sadly, we gave an inept second half performance and it was the visitors who got the crucial next goal that sealed the game for them with over half an hour of the match left. Had we pulled another goal back we could have pressed for a late equalizer but we instead surrendered meekly.      
    Steve Bruce went back to four at the back for this one but our problems go beyond that. We do not play for each other as a team. Our new signings like other signings before them appear to have been swallowed up by the growing malaise that our club has been subject to over recent years. Players that have impressed and scored goals for fun at the clubs they were bought from see their form drop and their goals dry up when they join us.
    The boss has a much bigger job than he and we thought that he had when we went on that early “new manager bounce”. He has to turn this club around by the end of the season and install a positivity in the players we have that can make next season markedly different to this and the last one. We need to make a strong promotion challenge next season but that currently looks to be beyond us.     
    My player ratings from a game that was frankly nothing other than an embarrassment are:
    Sam Johnstone – 5 – Guessed the right way but Armstrong’s firmly hit 25th minute penalty beat him. Bradshaw turned a 43rd minute cross just past his outstretched hand and into the corner of the net for their second. Got down to hold a 78th minute Moncur shot near the post.       
    Alan Hutton – 5 – The last of a host of defenders to try to clear the ball out of the area on 58 minutes but only succeeded in finding Bradshaw who hit his second of the night. Headed a 67th minute Lansbury cross wide.        
    James Chester - 6 – Solid enough.  
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Our return to a back four was a return to his central pairing with Chester which is one of the few positives we have seen this season. Did well enough.     
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Made a welcome return to the first team. Started very well but he was unable to maintain that high level of performance throughout the game. Harshly adjudged to have brought down Watkins inside the area to concede the penalty that gave them their opener and needed to try to get closer to Yiadom when he crossed for their second.
    Albert Adomah – 5 – His fierce 15th minute shot from outside of the box was tipped over the bar by Davies. Lifted an 84th minute shot well over the bar.
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Headed the ball into the arms of Davies on 32 minutes from around 8 yards. This was still some way below the form and influence on games that he had shown when he was with the visitors.      
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Had an 11th minute shot from inside the box saved by Davies and picked up the ball and hit a 21st minute shot that took a deflection before being gathered by Davies.    
    Jack Grealish – 5 – Showed a couple of glimpses of the ability that he has but not for the first time this season let this game pass him by without looking unduly concerned that it was doing so.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – MOTM – Hit a 26th minute shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the far post before turning in Adomah’s 44th minute cross for our only goal. He then hit a 55th minute shot from the edge of the box a couple of feet wide of the post and made a decent run into the box 10 minutes later but his attempted cross was blocked and put out for a corner off Davies’ leg. Looked likely to give us a late consolation goal on the 90th minute but he lifted the ball onto the top of the net. Needs to look up for colleagues when making runs and to work on his relationship with Hogan.
    Scott Hogan – 5 – Headed a 13th minute Amavi cross a couple of feet wide of the far post. He makes some promising runs but was again starved of service.       
    Substitutes:
    Birkir Bjarnason – 5 – Replaced Hutton on 73 minutes. Failed to make any impact following his introduction.       
    Andre Green – 6 - Replaced Lansbury on 73 minutes and looked lively unlike others around him.      
    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Grealish on the 76th minute and was not on long enough and did not do enough to gather any rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  7. John
    Villa won this tie at the Riverside and finished the job last night. It was a close call between the two teams, but we were so determined to emerge the victors that we were not to be denied.
    Boro have played us four times in the Championship this season and have not scored against us. If anyone was going to score last night, it was Villa that had looked the more likely to do so. Boro had a little more possession than we had last night but they rarely threatened to do anything with it. Our game management was as impressive as was our defence resolute.  
    We started strongly and had the better of the second half when it was our opponents who needed to press for a goal to level the aggregate score. Although at times we were forced back in the first half the clean sheet that secured the win that clearly meant so much to our team was rarely under threat in hindsight although a Villa goal would have eased our understandable nerves.
    Our players gave all they had and were backed by an impressive wall of noise that was produced by a packed claret & blue clad Villa Park. Boro’s one and only plan was to give the ball to Adama. That plan did not work on Saturday and it did not work again last night because on both occasions he was unable to get the better of our formidable defence. Pulis assisted us by repeating the same tactics that had failed in their home leg and by not starting with Bamford and Fabio last night when they had to seek a goal.     
    So, it is to be a Wembley playoff final with Fulham that makes or breaks our promotion campaign this season. Fulham will be the media’s firm choice. They can play some nice football, but have they ever come near to the level of performance that we produced to humiliate this season’s champions at Villa Park two months ago? They have had their off days this season as have we. There was not a lot to choose between the two clubs points tallies at the end of the season and we have both beaten each other once. I think we have the big match experience and the team spirit to clinch promotion at Wembley.
    To do that we need to produce the sort of Wembley performance that we gave against Liverpool 3 years ago rather than the one that we produced a month later against Arsenal. We won a cup final on the same day that we will be facing Fulham 36 years ago. Wembley would be a great place to clinch promotion but as we know it is no place for losers. Let’s win one again to get back where we belong on the 26th!               
    My player ratings from a game before which we remembered Jloyd and after which we celebrated reaching Wembley once again are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Confident and assured for most of the game. Was perhaps fortunate to still be on the pitch at the end having got a hand to keep out an 87th minute Adama effort when he had strayed just outside of the penalty area with his mind on claiming the bouncing ball. Downing’s resultant free-kick from the edge of the box thudded against the crossbar much to Sam’s relief.   
    James Bree – 7 – Lost possession on a couple of occasions early on but did his bit and settled into the game well. Did well to head out a 40th minute Adama cross at the far post with Howson having ran into position behind him.                
    James Chester - 9 – Another confident display. Hit a 37th minute shot wide of the post from a Grabban header.    
    John Terry – 9 – Just one win from picking up another trophy. Led by example last night.       
    Alan Hutton - 9 – Had Adama in his pocket once again. Adama had the edge in pace but Alan had the guile, will and experience to win his duel with him.    
    Robert Snodgrass – 8 – Covered an awful lot of ground last night.           
    Mile Jedinak - 9 – MOTM – Played a crucial role in front of the defence and his contribution like his beard was immense last night.   
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – Worked tirelessly to deny his opponents space and time. Charged down a 10th minute Randolph clearance but the ball deflected harmlessly to the left. Almost got on the end of a 34th minute Adomah cross but Friend made a timely and important challenge.
    Albert Adomah – 8 – Another that put in a big shift for the cause. Had a 71st minute shot from the edge of the area deflected off a defender past the far post.
    Jack Grealish – 9 – Curled a sweet 75th minute shot from the edge of the box which Randolph did well to keep out at the far post. He just oozes class.              
    Lewis Grabban – 8 – Worked hard up front and was denied by Randolph’s outstretched right leg when he got on the end of a 60th minute Adomah cross after a good one two between Jack and Albert. Hit a shot from well outside of the box 10 minutes later that Randolph tipped over.      
    Substitutes:
    Jonathan Kodjia – Replaced Grabban on 79 minutes and did his bit tonight. Nice to see him joining in with the celebrations at the end. Not quite on long enough to get a rating     
    Glenn Whelan – Replaced Hourihane on 85 minutes. Not on long enough to merit a rating.
    Birkir Bjarnason – Replaced Adomah on 91 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating.     
    Get Up Villa!
    John Lewis
  9. 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
  10. John
    We tried placing round pegs in round holes rather than in square ones yesterday and it worked!    
    It was nice to hear applause at half time and again at full time from a packed Villa Park on Saturday as the team left the field. It is very early in Dean Smith’s tenure at Villa Park and he has only had a couple of training sessions at best with some of his new players but there were still some early encouraging signs.        
    We pressed our opponents in their own half and showed a willingness to do so. Doing that took some pressure off our defence and we didn’t let Swansea begin to cause us too many problems at the back until the last quarter of the game when they had us on the back foot as we tired and might have denied us the victory our overall play and improved work rate had deserved.
    We even started to look a bit more like a team than a group of individuals yesterday. This much needed win brings us level on points with Dean’s former club Brentford and only 3 points off the play off places. Leeds and Albion will soon be looking over their shoulders and don’t look so nailed on for promotion after their defeats yesterday.         
    Dean, JT and Richard O’Kelly have a 100%-win record. Dean Smith has a win from his first Villa game and that is something that none of our previous six managers achieved. We had lost to Swansea on their last two visits to Villa Park, so this was a case of third time lucky for us. The acid test will be our next two games which are away from home. We took 3 points from these games last season and could do with getting at least the same this. Let’s go to Norwich and QPR looking for wins instead of with our backs to the wall. Six points from these two games would really get this season started and we do have some ground to make up. We are also Aston Villa and are claiming our new manager bounce!      
    We are not going to become a team that will walk away with this league overnight. We started well and got a win but lacked a clinical finish and enough invention in the final third. We don’t dominate games although we have the players who on paper look capable of doing so. The problems we have found so far this season will not have disappeared and they may well rear their ugly heads again. We just may through hard work and application have it in us to turn the corner and make this a season to remember rather than one to forget. We may just have witnessed the start of something big yesterday. Let’s hope so!              
    My player ratings from a game that we kept a clean sheet for only the second time in a league game this season are:
    Orjan Nyland – 7 – This was his best performance to date for us by some distance. This can be a new start for him as well as others and he can take some confidence from this display. Horton tried to turn in a cross on 23 minutes from just inside of the box that Nyland pushed away to his left. He then cut out a dangerous looking 56th minute cross low at his near post. Made a good reflex save on 69 minutes from a close-range Fulton header.      
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Gave his usual whole-hearted performance.    
    James Chester - 7 – Solid following his return from suspension.      
    Axel Tuanzebe – 7 – Looked reasonably comfortable alongside our captain in the heart of our defence. Worth a run in this position. Its not as if we are spoilt for choice when it comes to central defenders after all.            
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Has an opportunity to make this position his own again now. Looked solid enough at the back and denied the visitors an equalizer on 79 minutes when he got a foot to deflect a Roberts shot wide that had beaten Nyland who had come off his line towards him. Hit a nice cross on 22 minutes that McGinn almost connected with.    
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – Claimed his fourth assist of the season yesterday. His crosses often find their man, don’t they? I was a little surprised to see him still a starter, but I guess managers know what they will get from him and Dean got that yesterday.              
    Bikir Bjarnason – 7 – Looking more comfortable in the holding midfield role with each game. Likes a tackle and worked tirelessly. His distribution is something he could do with looking at.    
    John McGinn – 8 – MOTM – Back to his best yesterday. John pressed and harried his opponents throughout and worked incredibly hard for this win. We will miss him at Norwich.      
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Play him in the position in which he feels most comfortable and you are likely to get match winning performances again from him. This was an improvement from Jack and I hope he will kick on from this and begin to consistently produce what we know he is capable of. Hit a 21st minute free-kick from the right edge of the box that just needed a touch from someone that it did not get. Hit a 47th minute shot from the edge of the box that took a deflection off a defender before Nordfeldt got a hand to it diving to his left. Elmo picked up the loose ball and Adomah headed the cross back towards Jack whose attempt to hook the ball in from around 8 yards was saved by Nordfeldt.             
    Albert Adomah – 7 – A much better performance than of late. Albert seems keen to impress again and made a couple of decent crosses being much more involved than he had been recently. Hit a 37th minute shot that was gathered easily enough by Nordfeldt. McGinn found him with a quickly taken 29th minute free-kick and his resultant cross took a deflection off Roberts that led to the ball eluding Nordfeldt and almost creeping in at the far post. Hit a 52nd minute effort just wide of the post.       
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – Got our early winner on the 8th minute and on another day, he could have had a hat-trick. Got into the positions to score and this was his 4th goal in 7 games for us which is a more than acceptable strike rate. His goals can get us promoted this season and earn him international recognition again. He was a threat to the visitor’s defence from start to finish and seemed to be enjoying the game and the responsibility of leading the line.
    Jack hit an 8th minute free-kick against the wall after Tammy had been fouled on the edge of the box. Elmo picked up the loose ball wide on the right beat a defender and cut the ball back to Jack who found Elmo again whose flighted cross towards the far post was headed past Nordfeldt for our winner from just outside of the 6-yard box by Tammy. Couldn’t quite reach a 58th minute Adomah cross and brought down a cross from Adomah 4 minutes later that Nordfeldt dived to his left to save. Headed a 68th minute cross from Bolasie downwards which bounced over the bar with the keeper ending up in the back of the net rather than the ball.            
    Substitutes:
    Yannick Bolasie – 7 – Replaced Elmo on 64 minutes and hit a nice cross 4 minutes later for Tammy that could have given us some breathing space at the end.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – Came on for Albert on 74 minutes. Not on quite long enough to earn a rating or to make the sort of impression that might demand a starting place.     
    Conor Hourihane – Replaced Jack on 83 minutes. Unlucky to find himself on the bench again in my opinion. Not on long enough to gather a rating.   
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  12. John
    I actually thought we might win this one when we went a goal ahead with 28 minutes of this game left to be played. All we then needed was to do was to keep a clean sheet but we seldom do that do we?

    Up until then it had been our visitors that had looked the team most likely to break the deadlock and within 6 short minutes they were level. Inevitably our heads then dropped and we fell behind to a cruel late winner that spelt the end for our beleaguered former manager.

    This was another unusual team selection and the team selected did not really do enough to keep their manager in a job or to keep us off the bottom.

    A win or even a draw might have given Tim a chance to try to get another win at Spurs which might possibly have turned things around. But there was no guarantee of this given the poor run of results we have had this season. The parting of the ways and our relegation has looked increasingly more likely of late. Tim was not to be given as many chances to turn things around as was Lambert. Players brought in during the transfer window have yet to gel as a team so something had to change. If that change was not to be the owner it clearly had to be the manager once again.

    Another sad defeat was always going to be an ominous one for both manager and football club. So it has proved and we are back to square one and looking for someone to come in and rescue our season in the same way that Tim did 8 short months ago.

    Replacing managers is proving a costly business at Villa Park and it is certainly costing our absentee custodian more than his net outlay on players these days. In fact had we spent the money on players we have spent on paying off managers I doubt we would have been in our current sad, sad situation.

    Thanks for keeping the club up with the players you inherited last season Tim, for giving us our pride back albeit only fleetingly and for getting us to that Cup Final which is when it all began to fall apart. Good luck in the future at another club it is a pity it did not work out at this one for you and for us.

    Let us hope whoever is prepared to take over our football club given the position it currently finds itself in and the way it is being so under funded on the playing side that it faces an annual relegation battle can turn things around. Defeats like this one against a team that were themselves on a poor run before yesterday will not make the task any easier. The R word looms large at Villa Park again but is written even larger this season. We have given everyone else a head start and a point a game is unlikely to be enough to keep us up. We need clean sheets and to win games again. These are habits we have lost this season and need to regain quickly.
    My player ratings from a game that has left us with only 4 points from 10 league games and with one foot in the relegation trap door are:

    Brad Guzan – 4 – Made a splendid point blank save to deny Ayew on 62 minutes but then undid that with his poor positioning for a free kick from the edge of the box which cost us our lead. Sigurdsson lined up a free kick just outside the box and hit the ball over the wall and past Guzan who not for the first time had left too much space on the right hand side of his goal to be able to protect adequately. This cost us very dear and is a lesson he should have learned by now.                    
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Worked hard enough and was good enough up until it came to putting the ball into the box when his crosses were frankly woeful.
    Joleon Lescott – 4 – He continues to give more concern than would have been expected given his experience during games.     

    Michah Richards – 6 – Stood out again as the best of our defenders and has a will to win that others do not demonstrate as often. Michah was head-butted on 33 minutes by Fernandez which it seems all the officials missed so our opponents were not brought down to 10 men as a result.     
    Kieran Richardson – 4 – Again preferred to Amavi for a reason best known to the former manager. Wanted too much time on the ball at times and his lack of pace was exposed by the introduction of the speedy Barrow on 76 minutes.                          

    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Battled very well to hold onto the ball and hit a cross on 48 minutes that just needed a touch on it that neither Gabby nor Gestede were able to get.

    Jack Grealish – 4 – The performance he gave yesterday and the one he produced in last season’s FA Cup semi final were as different as chalk and cheese. He can be a much bigger influence on and be much more involved in games than this.

    Gabriel Agbonlahor - 4 – Inexplicably given an opportunity to walk straight back into the side following injury that his recent performances did not merit by our now departed manager. Played a nice one-two with Gestede on 46 minutes before he picked his spot but this was unfortunately a couple of yards wide of the far post.     
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – A reasonably solid performance.

    Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM – Got what could have proved a crucial goal on the day and one that will give him confidence for the games to come. Grealish picked the ball up inside his own half and ran forward before finding Bacuna who in turn found Gabby inside the box. His cross was met at the far post by a diving header from the unmarked Ayew that found the corner of the net on 62 minutes. Hit a shot from the edge of the box on 82 minutes that was gathered by Fabianski. Jordan looked the player most up for it during this game.          

    Rudy Gestede – 5 – Won a challenge on the edge of the box on 22 minutes but his shot was wide and posed no threat for the keeper. Climbed well to a Bacuna corner but headed over. He is a threat in the air but on the floor he is comfortably handled more often than not. He gives what it says on the tin but is not a like for like replacement for the striker we so miss.                   

    Substitutes:

    Carles Gil – Replaced Jack on 74 minutes. Should have started or come on sooner than this but was not given enough time to either turn things around or to earn a rating.     

    Adama Traore – Replaced Gabby on 85 minutes so was not on the field long enough to gather a rating or to show what we know he can do.  

    Stay up Villa!

    John Lewis

  13. 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
  15. John
    A rare two goals at home still produced “nul points” for us because we have a defence that is as watertight as was The Titanic.
    If this was the performance of a team with the weight taken off their shoulders it was not markedly different from the performances they produced before relegation (which our “custodian” deemed inevitable after only 5 league games) became a mathematical certainty last weekend.
    Southampton scored four and could have had a couple more if the woodwork had not denied them. We all arrived expecting another defeat and that is what we got. This was our 12th home defeat of the season, our 25th loss from 35 league games and our 10th successive defeat which brings us just one more defeat from equalling the worst run of losses in the history of our football club.
    Everyone wants to play us at the moment. Even Newcastle who could well be joining us in the league below next season will anticipate getting nothing less than a win and an easy three points from our next and final home game of the season. So we had better get our chants of “Going down with the Villa” in early doors!  
    Our caretaker manager selected a team no doubt with the hope that we could keep it tight at the back. That worked well didn’t it? We scored twice but the visitors still ran out comfortable winners. There is little point in picking players like Bacuna and Richardson (who would no doubt have played had he not had a knock) that have lost the crowd and done little to nothing to warrant selection this season.
    Why not play the kids alongside Gil, Jack and Traoré? Its not as if doing so could cost us our place in the division is it? These players would enjoy the full backing of the fans in the way that Ayew does. Failing to play our more creative players along with the young players to give them some first team experience smacks of ignoring what the fans want but that is sadly not unusual at our football club.
    It was great to see those thousands of banners held up before the game and on 74 minutes to show that the vast majority of fans are unwilling to accept how our football club is being run as it lurches from bad to worse on almost a daily basis. Well done to all involved in this protest!
    My player ratings from a game that gave us another disappointing and predictable result are:
    Brad Guzan – 4 – Came out to block a Long shot with an outstretched arm on 57 minutes, kept out a Davis effort at his near post on 59 minutes and then held a Rodriguez shot from outside of the box 2 minutes later although it was hit straight at him. Brad was beaten on 71 minutes by a shot from the edge of the area from Tadic which took a slight deflection off Westwood. He then pushed away a Davis cross with one hand on 79 minutes but did less well a minute later when he pushed weakly at a cross with one hand that fell to Long who spared his blushes by hitting the ball over. Did well to take the ball away from Mané inside the box as the substitute threatened to add a fourth on 84 minutes but he again exposed his fallibilities on 89 minutes when he presented the ball to an opponent with a quick ball played just outside his own area but fortunately Cissokho was able to take the ball off Long inside the area.
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Kept trying to move us forwards. Had an 85th minute effort helped over the bar at his near post by Forster and had a header from a Grealish corner headed off the line late in second half stoppage time.
    Micah Richards – 3 – Substituted at half time. 
    Joleon Lescott – 2 – A ball was played for Long on the 2nd minute that went over the head of Richards and then bounced off Joleon and back to Long whose shot fortunately cannoned off the bar. He then left the same striker in space 12 minutes later and the ball was headed in for their opener from Bertrand’s cross. Rodriguez tried to turn in a dangerous cross on 56 minutes which was deflected wide of the post off Lescott. He was left covering space rather than the unmarked Mané when he gave them their fourth on 94 minutes.  
    Aly Cissokho – 5 – Worked hard and Aly was solid enough at the back.
    Leandro Bacuna  – 2 – Really should have been on target with a header from a nice cross from Westwood that he turned wide of the post on 22 minutes. He then gave the visitors a two-goal cushion after 39 minutes with a thoughtless as well as an aimless back pass from well within the visitor’s half. Long then easily outpaced Lescott to reach the ball first. Guzan did well to dive at Long’s feet and to push the ball away from him but the striker then squared the ball for Tadic who was unmarked when hitting the ball home. Had Richards hurried rather than ambled back he might have been able to have challenged the scorer. 
    Ashley Westwood – 7 – MOTM – You wait almost a whole season for a league goal from him and then like the Clapham omnibus two come along together. His two goals were the highlights of our performance yesterday and his second was particularly well taken. Got on the end of a 38th minute Ayew cross but the ball went straight into Forster’s hands. Ashley then scored in the first minute of first half stoppage time when a good run and cross from Ayew was missed by Gana but ran on to him and he did well to find the corner of the net. His second came on 85 minutes when Gestede was unable to connect with a Grealish cross and the ball ran on to him just inside the box. Ashley proceeded to curl a splendid measured shot into the corner of the net. 
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Appeared to lack a little of his usual interest early on but got into the game increasingly as it wore on.
    Carlos Sánchez – 3 – He has not been the rock in our midfield that we had hoped for when he signed for us and that continued to be the case yesterday prior to his substitution.
    Scott Sinclair – 4 – Made a couple of decent runs. Hit a shot wide of the post on 35 minutes from the edge of the box and he had a shot saved by Forster’s feet after the ball had run to him in stoppage time after Gestede had lost it on the edge of the box.
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Why would anyone bring off Jordan when the team should have been chasing the game? That was clearly a view shared by many giving the resulting chant of “You don’t know what you’re doing”.  Had an 8th minute effort comfortably saved at his near post by Forster but was our biggest threat to the visitors until he was withdrawn.
    Substitutes:
    Kevin Toner – 6 – Replaced Richards at half time and gave a steady enough display that should lead to him starting our remaining games for me.
    Rudy Gestede – 4 - Replaced Ayew on 59 minutes and headed a 66th minute cross from Cissokho over which he had to stretch back to reach.
    Jack Grealish – 5 - Replaced Sánchez on 68 minutes. He needs to start our remaining games. Jack gave a couple of reminders of the player we knew from last season and was unlucky that a few of the things that he tried that did not quite come off. 
    Get straight back up next season Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  16. John
    This turned out to be something other than the result that our visitors had hoped for when arriving at Villa Park yesterday. They lost 2-0 to dent their promotion hopes and had both a player and their manager sent off.
    We claimed a third successive home win yesterday and by doing so moved into the top half of the table. We were informed “you can only win by cheating” on exiting the ground by a couple of unhappy visiting fans who must have mistaken us for the match officials. We must have been cheating on a regular basis of late given we have now won 4 of our last 5 games!    
    This win has brought Sheffield Wednesday’s advantage over us down to 14 points with 9 games left to play and with a maximum of 27 points achievable for us. They will now begin to look increasingly anxiously over their shoulders at Fulham if not quite far enough down the table to us as the race for the play-off places goes down to the wire.       
    There was not a lot between the teams yesterday and given we had lost Lansbury in the warm-up and Baker on 25 minutes due to injury that was quite an achievement for our injury hit side. Things changed when Sasso deservedly took an early bath after a wild 48th minute lunging challenge in the middle of the field on Hourihane in which he left his foot dangerously high. There was no cause for complaint at his dismissal although Carlos Carvalhal found plenty and his histrionics earned him a place in the stands rather than the place on our bench that he had tried to occupy before he made his increasingly amusing exit.
    Kodjia put the result beyond any reasonable doubt with his second goal in the 79th minute. We had again dropped too deep and invited 10-man Wednesday to make a late comeback either side of that decisive goal. Nevertheless, our defence stood firm to achieve another welcome clean sheet and we may yet find ourselves finishing surprisingly close to sixth place at the end of this season.                
    My player ratings from a game during which Barry Bannan gave a solid performance before warmly applauding the Holte End at the end of it are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Not too busy an afternoon for Sam who got down well to hold an 89th minute shot from Hunt having earlier done well to block a 17th minute effort from Winnall following a rare Chester error.       
    James Bree – 6 – Took a few minutes to fully appreciate what his role was on Hutton’s introduction but soon looked comfortable. He looked very promising yesterday. Got on the end of a 27th minute cross from Amavi hitting the side netting at the far post.             
    James Chester - 7 – Inexplicably passed the ball directly to Reach who ran on gratefully before feeding Winnall inside the box whose 17th minute shot was kept out well by the outstretched right leg of Johnstone. Other than that, his defending was impeccable as usual.    
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Substituted on 25 minutes following a clash of heads after being all too readily booked by referee Lee Probert in the 4th minute.     
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Got forward more than he has done in a Villa shirt so far and this was his best performance for us to date. 
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Made a nice run into the box on 51 minutes before finding Hutton who hit the ball wide of the post applying a defender’s finish when a goal had looked on. His good run gave him an assist for our second.  
    Gary Gardner – 5 – Got an unexpected start when Lansbury picked up an injury during the warm-up. Kept busy but was unable to put his stamp on the game in a midfield supplemented by full backs.
    Conor Hourihane - 7 – Held the makeshift midfield together as well as could be hoped for from his central role. Placed a ball that had run on to him inside of the box just wide of the post on 69 minutes. Claimed an assist for our opener with his well hit cross.     
    Mile Jedinak – 8 – MOTM – Mile had strong claims to being our best midfield player as well as our best defender yesterday. Adapted very well in central defence when we lost Baker mid-way through the first half and looked both comfortable as well as untroubled. Got on the end of a ball into the box from Hourihane on 19 minutes but his header flew over the bar. Won everything in the air and kept Rhodes in check. Narrowly beat two goal hero Kodjia to the MOTM award in my opinion.    
    Jordan Amavi – 6 – For me Jordan possesses the ability to play further up front than in his more familiar full or wing back roles but he does not quite seem to appreciate that himself at the moment. Hunt went down very easily inside the box claiming a penalty having felt Amavi’s arm on his shoulder but fortunately the referee gave the decision our way. Did a decent job.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – Scored the two goals that gave us our welcome win and held the ball up well at times. Tried to turn in a bouncing ball from wide of the goal but his effort was gathered by Westwood on the 17th minute. Failed to quite get a touch to the ball on the 65th minute when a shooting opportunity would have been there for the taking had he been able to do so as had also been the case some minutes earlier. Jonathan made no mistake on the 34th minute when Hourihane played a one-two with Bree from a corner before hitting a pinpoint cross that Johnathan climbed above Hunt and headed sweetly past Westwood into the net to finish a move that came from the training ground at either Barnsley or Bodymoor Heath. Scored his second after Adomah had found him nicely following a good run into the box on 79 minutes. Jonathan took the ball past Westwood and hit the ball into the net for his 15th goal of the season job done.    
    Substitutes:
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Surprisingly Alan was the player chosen to replace Baker on 25 minutes rather than central defender Elphick. Gave a very solid performance. Alan spent a fair bit of time waving that he was free for a pass that might give him a goal-scoring opportunity but having had such an opportunity and having screwed the ball wide on 51 minutes it was perhaps not unsurprising that players mostly looked for other options. Did very well in an unfamiliar role yesterday and could yet land another contract for next season given his present form, determination and work rate.          
    Tommy Elphick – Replaced Adomah on 82 minutes and was not on long enough to earn a rating.      
    Keinan Davis – Replaced match-winner Kodjia on the 86th minute so he was also not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  18. 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
  19. John
    Our third consecutive home win against the Canaries brought us potentially just 7 more wins away from making it into the play off’s. This had seemed an impossible dream only six games ago, it has now become an improbable one but with each win we get it becomes a little more possible.
    We have 7 games left before the final reckoning. We probably need 21 points from these 7 games or 19 at the very minimum. We have taken 18 points from our last 7 games.
    Fulham will need to get another 12 points from their last 7 games to make what we manage to get academic but we face them in what could be a 6-pointer on Easter Monday and they have taken 6 points less than we have from their last 7 games. Sheffield Wednesday slipped out of the top 6 yesterday having managed only 5 points from their last 7 games. The other 3 teams that are currently 2, 3 & 4 points respectively above us have managed 8, 6 & 10 points from their last 7 games. As Steve Bruce said after the win “We’re making a fist of it”.      
    Our visitors will be unhappy to come away with nothing to show for their contribution to yesterday’s game. They pushed us back too often and for too long for my liking particularly in the second half and enjoyed 69% of the possession. As we dropped deeper a goal seemed increasingly likely but it was Villa that scored it in the 87th minute to calm our nerves.
    We have found the means to win games like this one. We now have goals in us and the ability to see out games where in the past we had thrown points away in the closing minutes. This is our third consecutive win and clean sheet. We have conceded 1 goal and scored 11 in our last 7 games. That is promotion form!             
    My player ratings from a game that took us up to eleventh in the table and took us 3 points behind our visitors who finished 17 points clear of us last season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Looking increasingly confident and will no doubt claim an assist for our second. Jerome was found by the impressive Pritchard on the edge of the box on the 11th minute who then ran into the box pushing the ball wide of challenges from Baker and then Chester before hitting a weak shot that deflected wide of the post off Johnstone. Came off his line well to deny Jerome on 35 minutes and then got in the way of the follow up shot.         
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Did a decent job at the back.             
    James Chester - 7 – He is so reliable and marshalled the defence very well yesterday.    
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Looked very solid and did the simple things that needed doing at the back well and without any fuss.     
    Neil Taylor – 6 – A steady performance after what has been a difficult time for him. 
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Made some good runs especially in the first quarter of the game but his final ball went astray too often. Hit a cross for Hogan on 7 minutes but his header was well wide. Hit another on the 70th minute but Kodjia touched the ball inches wide of the far post.
    Henri Lansbury – 7 – Worked tirelessly in our midfield yesterday.
    Mile Jedinak - 7 – Solid when we were under pressure and popped up at each end of the field to ensure our hard-earned victory. This was demonstrated on 79 minutes when he managed to get a foot to the ball just as an opponent was about to pull the trigger.       
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Hit the top of the bar with a 60th minute header after Bennett had found him with an attempted clearance near the line from a Baker header.    
    Scott Hogan – 7 – Looked good yesterday before injury forced him off the pitch on 37 minutes.  Scott showed signs of forming a decent partnership with Kodja prior to that and set him up for our opening goal. Hourihane hit a 33rd minute cross which found him in the middle of the box. Scott turned nicely before hitting a crisp low shot that McGovern saved at the foot of his post. Let’s hope he is back for QPR.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – MOTM – Scored the two goals that separated the two teams yesterday. Hogan found him with a nicely weighted ball to his right on 25 minutes. Jonathan ran into the box with it and hit the ball sweetly with his left foot into the top corner of the net past the keeper and Pinto who was on the line. He played a one-two with Adomah on 64 minutes and then unselfishly tried to find Albert again inside the box when for once a shot may have been the better option. Scored our second on 87 minutes to clinch the win. Johnstone hit the ball from his own box to the edge of the other one where Kodjia ran onto it squeezing between Bennett and McGovern to prod the ball past the keeper for his 17th goal of the season.      
    Substitutes:
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – Replaced Hogan on 37 minutes and did very well. His pace caused our visitors some real problems in the second half not least on 80 minutes when he was brought down by Pinto having gone past the player who earned a second yellow as a result.      
    Gary Gardner – 4 - Replaced Hourihane on 69 minutes and disappointingly made little to no positive impression on the game.      
    Andre Green – Replaced Lansbury on the 87th minute making a welcome albeit a brief return from injury. He was not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  22. John
    This was a shambolic, embarrassing and disappointingly rancid performance. The light we had thought we had spotted at the end of a long dark tunnel was all too easily extinguished as was our recent run of improved performances and fragile confidence yesterday.
    We started this game with a better goal difference than Newcastle and level with Norwich. We had an opportunity to move to being a slender 5 points from safety with a win. Given our dire home record against yesterday’s visitors most of us would have taken a point although we really knew we needed all three but to lose and to concede 6 goals without reply in the process was beyond our very worst fears.
    This was our heaviest home league defeat in 81 years. Back in season 1935-36 we conceded 7 goals twice at Villa Park losing 0-7 to WBA and then 1-7 to Arsenal with Ted Drake scoring all 7 goals of their goals. We were relegated that season and yesterday’s appalling performance had relegation written all over it.
    We started well enough but our heads dropped when we conceded two goals in 9 first half minutes. At half-time the game could have gone one of two ways. We could have shown some fight and pulled a goal back or at the very least kept the score down to a two or three goal deficit or we could throw in the towel and become demoralised as we did in another abject display in the FA Cup against Manchester City. We took the later option conceding 4 goals in 13 second half minutes shamefully. Football does not get worse than this at Villa Park.
    Liverpool were languishing in the bottom half of the table when they arrived at Villa Park yesterday. This was not the Liverpool of the 70s and as we showed in last season’s FA Cup semi-final they can be beaten. But we failed to turn up, treated them with too much respect and made them look better than they actually are. If only our players had shown anything near the spirit that the Holte End did near the end of this sad game!
    We did not want this game enough to battle, press and challenge our visitors and instead surrendered meekly. We now have 12 games left in which to bridge the 8 point gap that stands between us and safety. Three points at Stoke might repair some of the damage but after this humiliating defeat it is hard to see any way back for us! 
    My player ratings from a game after which my “bright future” scarf looked increasingly ridiculous are:
    Mark Bunn – 4 – Acted as merely a spectator when neither a forward nor a defender made any contact with Milner’s 25th minute free-kick that went straight in at his far post. Kept out Clyne’s first shot after Firmino had found him but was left grounded along with Veretout when the same player was first to get to the rebound to score their penultimate goal. Mark was then left flat footed when Touré’s unchallenged header from a Henderson corner found the net to his right for their sixth on 71 minutes. Beat Sturridge to the ball after Coutinho had tried to set him up on 54 minutes having earlier saved well from Moreno at his near post on 33 minutes and from Sturridge again on 44 minutes.
    Michah Richards – 4 – Made a couple of moves forward and was not the worst of our defenders yesterday.   
    Joleon Lescott – 3 – Almost turned in a Henderson cross to make it 7 in the 86th minute but Bunn got down to keep it out.
    Jores Okore – 3 – Origi got in behind him on 63 minutes and neither he nor Lescott were able to get back to do anything to stop him adding a fourth goal.   
    Aly Cissokho – 3 – Neither he nor Lescott took responsibility for Sturridge who was therefore unchallenged when heading in their first.
    Leandro Bacuna – 2 – Made a half hearted attempt if that to close down Coutinho whose cross was headed home past a static Bunn for their 16th minute opener. He then conceded the free-kick that led to their second although there was little contact with Coutinho who went to ground all too readily for me if not for the referee. Failed to bring the ball under control on 58 minutes losing the ball to Can who hit the ball home from the edge of the box for their third. Had a 60th minute shot pushed away which was cleared before Gana who had found him on the edge of the box could get to the loose ball having had another effort fumbled by the keeper when he cut into the box after 47 minutes.
    Jordan Veretout - 3 – Failed to cover Clyne’s run on 65 minutes which led to their fifth.  
    Ashley Westwood – 3 – Can do more than this as can the rest of the team.   
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – MOTM – Shaded it as the best of a bad bunch for me yesterday.
    Carles Gil – 4 – Has had much better and more influential games than this but he had little to nothing to work with yesterday.    
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 2 – Had a reasonable first 10 minutes or so but soon faded badly and looked so much more like his recent lack lustre self than he had during his last Villa Park appearance. Substituted on 57 minutes.  
    Substitutes:
    Scott Sinclair – 5 – Replaced Gabby after 57 minutes. Scott actually ran at their defenders a couple of times and was unlucky when his measured 80th minute shot hit the angler of crossbar and post.   
    Jordan Lyden – 5 - Replaced Bacuna on 66 minutes and it was a little harsh to make him play any part in this debacle.
    Alan Hutton – Replaced Richards on 85 minutes so was not on long enough to earn any rating.
    Stay Up Villa!

    John Lewis

  23. John
    No team has ever avoided relegation from the Premier League with single figure points at this stage of the season. This is being widely quoted as a reason to conclude that our fate is already sealed. That may well prove to be the case but there was football before season 1991-92!

    In season 1990-91 Sheffield United had managed only 4 points and 4 draws by mid-December after their first 17 games in Division 1. They ended the season in 13th place on 46 points and well clear of the relegation places. So history proves it has and can be done after all. A repeat of that achievement by Villa would be a very nice unexpected Christmas present for us all!      

    On 13th December 1998 we beat Arsenal at Villa Park to go top of the table. We have not beaten them in the league at Villa Park since. Yesterday precisely 17 years later to the day it was Arsenal that beat us to go top of the league themselves.

    Arsenal remain undefeated in the league at Villa Park this century and it seems the only way we will avoid their winning run at Villa Park being extended to 18 years is by our being relegated. That is something we sadly look likely to be able to achieve with some games to spare now.

    There was no festive cheer to be taken from this game for us and no Christmas gifts of much needed points from our visitors. Teams that are above us seem able to get surprisingly positive results as did Newcastle yesterday and Bournemouth on Saturday. We alone of the bottom dwellers can be relied upon to be consistent to the extent that yesterday’s defeat broke our football club’s all time record run of games without a win. I have had enough of the sort of record breaking we have been doing for far too long now!

    Our chances of extending our 29-year stay in the top flight grow less as each game passes us by. We started well enough yesterday but their early converted penalty relieved any pressure there may have been upon them given they were aware that we were likely to pose them little to no threat up front.

    Their second goal was the coup de grâce and they were able to run down the clock in the second half without shifting out of second gear. Their win was a very, very comfortable one. We did create a few half chances but we were fortunate that they were happy to come away with a 2-goal winning margin because had they had the will to have gone for victory by a wider margin our goal difference could have looked worse than it already does today.

    We now need snookers to stay up. Other teams are getting the sort of unexpectedly positive results they need which seems to be way beyond us. If we are to make some sort of a fight of this then we really need to win a couple of the three games that we have left during what remains of this sorry year.

    12 or 13 points at the half-way stage of this season could yet give us some hope of turning things around. To do that we would need to get a minimum of the same points from our next 3 games that we have managed to get from our first 16. It seems highly unlikely at the moment as we stare into the abyss that a team who have difficulty in scoring but concede goals a plenty will get anywhere near the number of points we need from these three games. 

    My player ratings from a game that has left us still without a home league win this season, with the worst goal difference in the league, with a measly 6 points from 16 games and with only 3 from our last 15 are:

    Brad Guzan – 5 –. Sent the wrong way on the 8th minute when Giroud hit their first from the penalty spot. Had little else to do during the game but played his team mates into trouble a couple of times when playing the ball out of his area such as when he gave the ball to Lescott on the edge of the box in stoppage time. Brad came out for an Ozil free kick on 20 minutes that he failed to reach but Giroud failed to take advantage and Gestede cleared his header away for a corner. He then pushed an 82nd minute Oxlade-Chamberlain shot that had taken a touch off Lescott out for a corner.                                                                          

    Alan Hutton – 4 – Started the game badly and pulled Walcott back with both arms on his shoulders after he had cut into the box in front of him for their penalty. He improved later but it would have been difficult to have got any worse. Alan also headed a 43rd minute corner harmlessly wide.                                  

    Jores Okore – 6 – MOTM – Looked solid enough on a day when the team did not.      

    Joleon Lescott – 5 – Joleon was left with 3 players to mark for their second goal after both Sánchez and Veretout failed to cover runs from Ozil and Giroud. Ozil unselfishly played the ball to Ramsey who was the first of two unmarked players inside the area and the game was over as a contest if in reality it ever was one.                                    

    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Cech parried a Sánchez cross to him on 21 minutes but he sent the ball well over. Unlucky on 62 minutes when Ayew found him wide and in a lot of space to see his measured shot go inches over the bar.                          

    Jordan Veretout – 5 – Hit a shot from the edge of the box well over the bar on 48 minutes.

    Carlos Sánchez - 4 – His 50th minute shot was gathered easily enough by Cech.                   

    Idrissa Gana – 5 – Hit a shot from the edge of the box wide of the post on 31 minutes. He appeared to have been fouled to everyone other than the referee when he lost possession of the ball near the edge of their box and they went on to add their second.

    Scott Sinclair – 5 – Gana found him with a good ball in the 6th minute but his low shot from the edge of the box went straight into the arms of Cech. Scott headed a cross onto the roof of the net on 58 minutes.   

    Jordan Ayew – 5 – Aimed a nice looking ball into the box for Sinclair which he was not quite able to bring under control on 53 minutes.  

    Rudy Gestede – 4 – Won some balls in the air but offered little to no threat of scoring himself and was much too static when we had the ball. Failed to get enough on a header from a 49th minute Hutton cross.           

    Substitutes:

    Carles Gil   6 - Replaced Gestede on 59 minutes and made a decent impact. Hit a shot just wide of the post on 82 minutes that Cech appeared to have covered.   

    Jack Grealish – Replaced Gana on 78 minutes. Did not make any impression on the game so did not merit a rating.     

    Adama Traore – Replaced Sinclair on 87 minutes. Not on long enough to gather a rating but he did make a powerful run from inside his own half in the first minute of stoppage time before hitting a shot from inside the area into the side netting. He offers the chance to make something from nothing as this demonstrated. Given we have nothing at the moment we have very little to lose by starting him in our next four games because we really need to get some serious points from them.

    Happy Christmas to all readers & stay up Villa!

    John Lewis


     
  25. John
    I think that we are all growing a little more accustomed to that winning feeling that has been absent from Villa Park for far too long. We have now gone five league games unbeaten since the arrival of Steve Bruce and have gathered 11 points from a possible 15 which is promotion form.
    Brucie has got us organised and appears to have stamped out that habit of conceding late goals that had cost us so dear earlier this season. Our new boss gets the best out of the players that are available to him and has done this since his arrival as he did with his previous clubs. Steve Bruce might have been pleasantly surprised to hear his name being sung with such gusto by the Holte End yesterday but I think this could well become a very regular occurrence.   
    This was a game that looked on paper as a likely home win. So, it proved but only after we had gone a goal behind due to a well taken headed goal from the free-scoring Gallagher who is on loan from Southampton. We at best matched our visitors in the first half and there was little to choose between the two teams until two clinical finishes from Kodjia gave us a second successive home win for the first time since May 2015.   
    My player ratings from a game that cemented our position as the only team in our division not to have tasted a home league defeat this season are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – Did well to keep a 20th minute header from Gallagher out at the post and helped a Marshall free-kick from the edge of the box over the bar 5 minutes later. Was left flat footed by Gallagher’s goal which found the corner of the net.     
    Alan Hutton – 5 – His final ball was again found wanting.   
    James Chester - 7 – A very calm and assured display.       
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Faced a difficult opponent in Gallagher who only once got the better of him when he climbed above him to put them ahead.
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – He is looking better with every game.
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Provides a wide option for us. Played in some nice crosses and made some decent runs forward yesterday.    
    Gary Gardner – 6 – Miscued on the third minute when an Adomah corner unexpectedly found its way to him past the group of players that lined up in front of him. Hit a powerful shot from outside of the box on the 61st minute that Steele turned around the post. Brings something to our midfield that we had been missing and looks like he is beginning to feel increasingly comfortable in our starting line-up.
    Mile Jedinak – 7 – Mile is now looking like the player we had expected to see from the start of this season. Produced another solid encouraging display yesterday.  
    Jack Grealish – 6 – Earned us a penalty that led to our equalizer with a nice run into the box on 57 minutes that was only ended when he was brought down by Greer.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 8 – MOTM – Had a 23rd minute effort punched away by Steele and hit an Adomah corner that fell to him over the bar on 35 minutes. Stepped up with confidence to hit a powerful well struck spot kick into the corner of the net which evaded the reach of Steele on 57 minutes. Hit our winner on 70 minutes but took a knock in doing so that led to his substitution. Jedinak found him wide and he ran towards the near post where he did so well to thread the ball past Lowe and Steele inside the far post with the inside of his right foot.
    Ross McCormack – 5 – Had a 42nd minute header at the far post from an Adomah cross saved by Steele. Was flagged offside on the hour when he somehow contrived to hit the ball wide from very close range. Turned well and hit an effort that beat Steele on 64 minutes but hit the side netting.         
    Substitutes:
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 6 – Was our first substitution when he replaced McCormack on the 68th minute. This represents a surprising rapid return to the fold. The player might not have anticipated this or the warm reception he was given by supporters upon taking the field. Did as well as could be expected considering his need for game time and match fitness.       
    Ashley Westwood – 5 - Replaced Kodjia on 74 minutes to solidify our midfield with the points ours to hold onto.   
    Tommy Elphick – Replaced Grealish on 90 minutes to help shore up our defence in stoppage time but was not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
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