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John

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  1. John
    Despite selling players like there is no tomorrow in the last two transfer windows and being second from bottom of the table both before and after this game our visitors have not tasted defeat in their last three games against us.
    The Bees drew at Villa Park last season and did the same yesterday. This result has put as huge a dent in our confidence and has placed similar doubts upon our promotion prospects as had our 1-1 home draw against Brentford last September. 
    We need to approach home games with a view to winning them rather than to not losing them. The onus is on us to crate chances and to put those chances away. Playing two forwards up front would be a good place to start. We were poor in the first half and were even worse in the second.
    Whilst our overall performance yesterday was unacceptable the result was no less than our visitors deserved and they were clearly the better team. We were fortunate to end the game with a point. They may still be in the bottom three but they were very well organised, looked by some way the most likely of the two teams to break the deadlock and comfortably handled a team that are only three points and five places above them.
    Brentford dictated the course of the game all too easily. They bossed the midfield, dealt comfortably with what little threat we produced up front and unlike us produced good scoring opportunities aplenty. They had a plan and we didn’t. They were well organised where we were not. We have the better squad on paper but it did not look like it on Saturday!
    Steve Bruce admitted in his post-game interview with BBC Radio WM that we “didn’t play with the energy or the spark that was required”. He also admitted that he “should have done better and freshened us up”. He went on to add that “at 3 – 4 o’clock yesterday (Davis, Green and Onomah) weren’t going to play but wanted to play this morning, unfortunately all three of them have come off injured and looked jaded and tired”. I would have hoped that Hogan, Snodgrass and Lansbury had also wanted to play having had a less arduous week. He added looking forward to our next game, “We’ll be better than what we were today”. We will need to be!   
    We dropped too many points at home last season and have now dropped 4 points from our first 3 home games of this new season. We gave ourselves too much ground to make up on the teams that ended up battling for promotion last season due to our early run of disappointing results. We are now 10 points behind leaders Cardiff, 8 points behind Leeds, 7 points behind Wolves and 4 points behind 6th placed Middlesbrough who we play next Tuesday. We are currently 18th in the league and have only 6 points from our first 6 games of the season. Our previous manager left when the club occupied 19th place having taken 10 points from the first 11 league games of last season and having been 10 points off the play-off places. Say no more!
    The 2 points that we dropped yesterday need to be made up sooner rather than later. We cannot afford to be cut adrift as we were last season with too much ground to make up on the promotion contenders. The visit of Boro provides us with an early opportunity to make some amends. They won 3-0 at Bolton yesterday to take themselves into the last of the play-off positions. Given that, a draw might have just been acceptable before we drew our second home game of the season yesterday although we do really need to win home games against the clubs that we hope to be competing with for a promotion place at the end of this season. We now cannot afford to drop further home points against Boro. A defeat on Tuesday would take the gap between the two clubs up to 7 points after only 7 games but if we perform anything like we did yesterday it is hard to see us making up any ground on them.        
    My player ratings from a game that gave us a stark and unpleasant reminder of how we fared last season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 8 – MOTM – Quite simply we would have lost this game without him. Did very well to block a 57th minute Clarke shot with his right leg after the player had run into the box having been put clear. Parried and then held a Barbet free kick from the edge of the box on the hour mark. Did well to turn a 72nd minute Watkins shot past the far post and pushed a 76th minute shot from the edge of the box from the same player past his left-hand post.
    James Bree – 6 – Did well enough at the back.               
    James Chester - 6 – Wanted too long to bring an 85th minute Snodgrass cross that had flown above Hogan to him under control which allowed Bentley the chance to smother his eventual effort.    
    John Terry – 6 – Made a 19th minute mistake that presented the ball to an opponent on the edge of the box but his blushes were spared when Whelan cleared the danger.       
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Another steady defensive display.  
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 4 – Did not make enough of an impression on the game. Headed a cross from Green well over on 52 minutes and had 79th minute appeal for a penalty rejected when Dalsgaard took the ball before he went down.
    Josh Onomah – 6 – The best of our midfield by some distance yesterday before he left the field on the hour due to injury. Snatched at a nice 9th minute Green cross hitting the ball wide of the post.         
    Glenn Whelan – 4 – Needed to try playing the ball forward instead of behind him more often.  
    Conor Hourihane – 5 – Did not get forward often enough and would have benefited from having Lansbury alongside him in my opinion.        
    Andre Green – 6 – Substituted on the hour due to a hamstring injury and he will be missed. Dropped too deep at times but he was not alone in that and he did play a couple of decent balls into the box.     
    Keinan Davis– 6 – Held the ball up well when he had the opportunity to do so but he was left very isolated up front, short of service and played with no support alongside him. Hit a 21st minute shot from the edge of the box that went just wide of the post. Onomah found him well inside the box on 26 minutes but he sliced the ball into the side netting.            
    Substitutes:
    Robert Snodgrass – 6 – Replaced Green on 60 minutes and showed signs of good things to come from him in the future.   
    Scott Hogan – 5 - Replaced Davis on 60 minutes. Made a good run inside the box and was found by a ball from Onomah on 67 minutes but his attempt to square the ball from close range but a tight angle was intercepted by Bentley’s left hand at the near post. He needs to start and to have another striker playing alongside him.   
    Gabby Agbonlahor – 4 - Replaced the injured Onomah on 71 minutes. I could not help but think that the creativity of Lansbury or the running of Bjarnason would have been a better option. He made no noticeable positive impact upon the game.       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  3. John
    A second win of the season and a second successive home win against Wigan who have been hard to beat at Villa Park in past meetings maintained our 100%-win record yesterday. It gave us two wins at the start of a season for the first time in 19 years.
    We have played better than this but for a second time in this fledgling season we showed our resilience by coming back to win after going a goal down. We sit third in the early league table with a game in hand of the early league leaders. Six points from our first two games is an encouraging start and it is something we can and need to build upon.  
    Cardiff gained promotion last season by winning close games on a regular basis and by maintaining a winning run that built their confidence. They developed the habit of grabbing late winners and although their football was not pretty it proved annoyingly effective. We have started this season a little like that. We might have lost or drawn a game like this and the last one last season, but we didn’t. Let’s put a run of wins together and stick to those automatic places like a limpet throughout this season.
    Wigan looked a decent team yesterday and wins will not come easy against them for this season’s promotion contenders. They will consider themselves unfortunate to leave Villa Park pointless. I hope that a few more teams will feel that way before this season concludes.    
    My player ratings from a game that brought us another win as we await more new signings to further strengthen our team are:
    Orjan Nyland – 5 – Beaten to the ball on the edge of the box by Powell who won their challenge to prod home Jedinak’s woeful attempted back pass on 41 minutes. Had little chance with their second. Will be working on his kicking and on crosses after this. Needs to be allowed time to acclimatise to his new team and to a new league.   
    Axel Tuanzebe – 6 – Substituted on 65 minutes as we were searching for a winner. Gave a competent enough display filling in as a full back but he would be more comfortable and needs to play in the centre of our defence.      
    James Chester- 7 – His usual reliable self at the back and was unchallenged when he climbed to head home a nicely placed 13th minute free kick from McGinn to give us our opener. Don’t you just love his new scoreboard photograph by the way?    
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – One careless moment tarnished what was otherwise a decent enough defensive display. His awful under hit back pass gifted Powell their equalizer. His place is in the midfield and he should only be used as an emergency central defender. Headed a McGinn free kick wide on 66 minutes.       
    Alan Hutton – 7 – Connolly got in front of him to head the ball home on 55 minutes and give Wigan the lead. Got forward well, earning his “Scottish Cafu” chants with a particularly adept 27th minute turn. Ran to the edge of the area before hitting a 46th minute shot that Walton saved comfortably enough and gave his usual fully committed performance.    
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Seems to be an automatic choice. Headed away from the post to safety on 28 minutes. He does produce consistent performances, but this is a position that I feel we should still be looking at strengthening with some urgency.           
    Birkir Bjarnason – 7 – Played in the holding midfield role and popped up at the far post in the 94th minute to give us our late winner. A McGinn cross was cleared only as far as Hourihane who hit a sweet cross around the defender who was in front of him that Birikir hit home at the far post.   
    Jack Grealish – 8 – Was given little to no protection throughout from the referee who gave Wigan a licence to make uncompromising challenges upon him at will. Jack was his usual impressive self on those occasions that he was not hacked down. How super nice it was to see Jack still in a Villa shirt.
    John McGinn – 8 – MOTM – A very impressive debut. He works hard, likes to make a challenge and looks good on the ball. His corner led to our equalizer and his left footed free kick found Chester for our first. Kipre attempted to clear John’s 63rd minute corner but it cannoned off Dunkley’s head into the back of the net for our second. Hit an effort just wide on 73 minutes having had a 33rd minute shot from outside of the area saved by Walton. Looks likely to be another impressive Scot who has appeared for The Hibees before joining us and he follows in the illustrious footsteps of Alex Cropley and Des Bremner.
    Andre Green – 6 – Made a couple of decent runs and will get better with a run of games. Hit a 69th minute shot from the edge of the box that Walton kept out. This can be a big season for him.              
    Jonathan Kodjia – 4 – Looks a shadow of the player he was before injury. He improved during the second half, but it would have been difficult to have been less effective. Should have found his match fitness by now which was the reason we gave for his lack lustre displays at the end of last season.  Headed a nice McGinn cross over in the 52nd minute and had a 61st minute shot blocked by Walton. Headed a 68th minute Adomah cross wide. Badly in need of a confidence boosting goal or two.
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Came on for Tuanzebe in the 65th minute. Has not looked the same player that did so well for us up until towards the end of last season for some time now.
    Rushian Hepburn-Murphy - 6– Replaced Green on 74 minutes. Looked keen as well as full of running and pace.
    Conor Hourihane - Replaced Kodjia on 87 minutes. I had expected that Conor would start yesterday. Although he was not on long enough to gather a rating he did have time to hit the cross that produced our late winner.  
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  5. John
    This was an improved performance on the one that we witnessed on Saturday but it would have been difficult to have been worse than that! The team selection was a little more positive as were the substitutions made at half time that gave us two strikers at long last albeit against a team who were down to ten men. We enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession and created several chances but were sadly unable to put any of them away.
    Another goalless home draw makes it seem a long time since we hit 4 at Villa Park but we did exactly that in the two home games we played prior to last Saturday’s game. These draws have done nothing to lift us nearer to the top six than the bottom six or to ease the pressure on our manager. Boro’s defence rode their luck at times last night but they were organised and determined. We got forward a lot last night but our final balls were often wayward and we lacked the confidence along with the luck to hit the back of the net when scoring opportunities arose. Given that we deserved to have won this one. 
    So, we are left with just one league win from 7 games and are unbeaten in our last 4 matches. We have kept a second successive clean sheet but have not scored in those two games either. We are one of 5 clubs with 7 points but are the last placed of these clubs because we only have 7 goals from our 7 games. We are 3 points clear of Small Heath who head the 3 clubs who are sitting in the relegation zone but are 5 points off the play off places and 9 off the automatic promotion places. Make of that what you wish but we need to start scoring goals and to start winning rather than drawing games. We need to start by winning at Barnsley, at home to Bolton and at Burton. 16 points from 10 games would sound a lot better than 7 from 7. To do that we will need to start putting our chances away and keep it tight at the back. We will also need to play for wins. Here’s hoping!            
    My player ratings from a game that showed that there really is not that much between these two teams (currently 4 points) are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Not frequently called upon but did very well on 71 minutes to keep out a shot from the edge of the box from Assombalonga that he turned past the post and had earlier flown across his goal to keep out a 3rd minute Gibson header.
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 5 – Got forward in the first half but we had other wide players available to do that last night. Did ok at the back when called upon to do so.                
    James Chester - 6 – A sound defensive performance when tested.    
    John Terry – 6 – Solid and composed.       
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Another steady defensive performance. Got forward more often although having done so his final ball sometimes went astray.  
    Robert Snodgrass – 8 – MOTM – Robert was a real threat last night. Tried to turn home a 25th minute ball played to him on the edge of the box from Davis who had picked up a loose ball but his shot was collected by Randolph. Headed downwards on 36 minutes but it bounced nicely into Randolph’s hands. Hit a nice 40th minute cross over the keeper which was headed wide by Davis. Hit a decent 45th minute free kick from the edge of the box that was gathered near the post at the second attempt by Randolph. Hit the bar on 50 minutes with a fierce shot (which was perhaps unnecessarily so) after Randolph was only able to parry an Adomah cross in his direction.  
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Looked to be trying to take one for the team when he brought down Johnson from behind on 64th minute. That gave the referee the opportunity he had been waiting an hour for and without any hesitation he evened things up by showing Henri a straight red. It was a yellow card offence and a professional foul. I can’t recall seeing anyone getting a straight red for one of these but I suspect it was interpreted as a kick at the opponent. Left clear by a splendid chip over the defence by Taylor but Randolph scrambled the ball away.          
    Mile Jedinak - 6 – A welcome return following injury and the 45 minutes he had will have shaken off a few cobwebs. Made way for Hogan at half time to give us another striker as we attempted to press for a goal against a team we then had a man advantage over.   
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – Conor was the victim of an unnecessary and wild scissor like challenge from Traore that led to the once occasional Villa Player getting his marching orders after 4 minutes. Hit a speculative shot from 30 yards on 27 minutes that flew a couple of feet over the bar. He was so unlucky that Hogan got in the way of his goal bound shot on the goal line on 76 minutes. He then had a late opportunity to win the game on 94 minutes when a Snodgrass corner fell to him but his shot was off target and went wide of the near post.        
    Birkir Bjarnason – 4 – A disappointing display. Snodgrass was found by a nice ball from Terry and ran into the box before hitting a chipped 40th minute cross that flew over Randolph and Christie but Birkir’s far post header was poorly directed and looped wide of that post.     
    Keinan Davis– 6 – Worked hard and does hold the ball up well hopefully he can add an increasing goal threat to his overall game.            
    Substitutes:
    Albert Adomah – 7 – Replaced Bjarnason at half time and made a positive impression.
    Scott Hogan – 6 - Replaced Jedinak at half time. Headed the ball onto the roof of the net on 68 minutes. Needs to start games no doubt he will have to wait a week for that.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 - Replaced Davis on 70 minutes. Nice to see him back in a Villa shirt and hopefully he can provide the goals we have recently been so short of. Got on the end of a teasing cross from Snodgrass and his far post header was helped onto the bar by Randolph before falling to Hourihane whose shot was cleared off the line by our own player. Headed a Hourihane free kick just over on 80 minutes.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  6. John
    The pride of the Black Country arrived at Villa Park yesterday expecting to record a further win. They snuck out of the ground later with their tails between their legs having been clearly outplayed on the day by the pride of the Midlands.
    Cardiff and Fulham fans would have expected Villa to drop at least a point last night. They were to be disappointed. This looked a tough game for us but perhaps we underestimated the team’s will to win a little and by doing so over-estimated the impact our visitors would be allowed to make upon the match which brought them their heaviest league defeat of the season.    
    This was a memorable game and performance. It was a game that those Villa fans who were fortunate enough to attend can tell their children and grandchildren about in future years.    
    It was the day that our players and manager made Villa Park a fortress once again. Villa produced a performance that was even better than the one that gave us victory last month against the Small Heathens and we needed to do so against what is a significantly more competent team.    
    This was a hard-fought local derby. In the first half there was little to choose between the two teams. Villa took an early lead but were pegged back by the confident visitors who looked solid and dangerous for the rest of the half. The second half was a different matter. Wolves were blitzed by three second Villa half goals that they had no answer for. Villa take the honours from the games between the two teams this season 4-3 on aggregate then!
    Our visitors will come the end of this season take the place in the top flight that their consistently impressive overall displays this season have earned them, but they might not be surprised after yesterday’s game to find Villa occupying the other automatic promotion spot alongside them to ensure that this local derby is played in the Premier League next season.      
    My player ratings from a game that gave us our tenth win from our last twelve matches are:
    Sam Johnstone – 7 – Reassuringly solid on those occasions that he was tested. Could do little to stop Jota forcing in their equalizer.        
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 7 – A solid display.    
    James Chester - 8 – Scored our second on 57 minutes stretching to hit home a well-placed Snodgrass free-kick and wasn’t he happy about it?       
    John Terry – 8 – Was the rock on which our solid defence was built upon. Did very well to clear the ball over the bar with Bonatini waiting to get on to a ball that had been played back towards him by Doherty before their equalizer and directed a later Snodgrass free-kick towards Chester who was not quite able to connect with it. There was no way he was prepared to accept anything other than a Villa win from this game. Terrymendous!
    Neil Taylor – 7 – Looks capable of making this position his own now made a splendidly timed tackle inside the box on 78 minutes.
    Robert Snodgrass – 8 – Worked hard and did more than his fair share of tracking back. Showed he really wanted this one with a whole-hearted tenacious display.
    Mile Jedinak – 7 – We look a much more solid midfield with the bearded one in it. Got his head to    Snodgrass’s corner which led to our early opener.
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – A solid performance.    
    Albert Adomah – 8 – MOTM – Albert was a constant threat to the visitors down the flank. He scored our first after 8 minutes when he was in the right place at the right time to hit the ball in from close range, put a sweet cross over for the vital third goal which gave us a 2-goal cushion and did a solid job for us when back in his own half to stifle their forward movement.     
    Jack Grealish – 8 – He really is some player, isn’t he? Looks to be able to make the sort of immense contribution to a game that he made in that Liverpool cup semi-final week in and week out now.   
    Lewis Grabban – 7 – Scoring goals for fun, isn’t he? Added his fourth goal for us in his last four games with our third on 62 minutes. Hit the side netting at the near post on 43 minutes after turning well after Grealish has done so well to get a cross over to him. Bruce uses the loan market to great effect.     
    Substitutes:
    Birkir Bjarnason – 7 – Came on for Albert in the 75th minute and hit our fourth with a toe-poke from the edge of the box 10 minutes later having ran through their defence to reach there. 
    Henri Lansbury – Replaced Hourihane on 81 minutes so was not on quite long enough to earn a rating.  
    Scott Hogan – Replaced Grabban on 86 minutes and was not therefore on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  7. John
    This performance or should I say lack of it was simply not good enough. We were as bad yesterday as we had been good twice at Villa Park against the same opponents last season. This game meant something to us but it seemed to pass our players by unnoticed. We carried too many passengers yesterday and you really cannot afford to not have everyone up for it in games like these.    

    Albion got their revenge all too easily yesterday. They clearly wanted it much more than we did and bossed the game from start to finish playing the sort of football that we expect from a Tony Pulis team. They were uncompromising but effective and could not be described as being pretty to watch. Their winner which could not have been described as having come against the run of play came from a striker who wanted away from the club but that did not stop the Baggies celebrating it.

    We did not impose ourselves early. In the continued absence of Gueye we lost the midfield almost without a fight. We also posed no sort of threat up front without the pace of Traore and with Gabby unsurprisingly looking like a fish out of water in attempting to lead the line. We did get a little better in the second half but it would have been hard to have become any worse and we did not improve enough to ever really look like pulling this one out of the fire. The referee made two decisions that went against us on 64 and 71 minutes that might have given us something from this lack lustre performance but that was never going to happen was it?

     The team have the opportunity to make some sort of amends on Tuesday night. But a performance that is anything like the one that they produced yesterday could even against such limited opponents produce the unthinkable and unpalatable that evening. Make sure it does not happen!    

     My player ratings from a sorry game that has left us still without a league win at Villa Park and occupying the same lowly league position that we finished last season in are:
    Brad Guzan – 7 – A much better display and Brad did much to keep our deficit down to a single goal. Made a good reaction save to keep out a Rondon header in the second minute and was grateful Berahino was unable to get a firmer touch when gathering his 19th minute effort. Did well to push a Fletcher shot past the post on 31 minutes but was left on his knees when Berahino deflected a Morrison shot past him 8 minutes later for their winner. Brad made a save at the second attempt from Rondon on the hour mark and held a far post Rondon header on 83 minutes.                           
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Solid enough at the back but although he got plenty of the ball when moving forward he was not able to do as much with it as he would have wanted. Alan was possibly unlucky not to have gained a penalty when Berahino appeared to handle his 64th minute cross just inside rather than outside the area.                             

    Michah Richards – 6 – Found the back of the net with a header from a Lescott ball into the box but with the ball on its way to him the referee blew his whistle rather than played the advantage on 71 minutes.    

    Joleon Lescott – 6 – Looks like he can form a solid partnership with our captain when they have had the time to work on it as did Clark and Okore last season.                                 

    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Needed to produce a stronger challenge on Dawson in the build up to their winner. Made a nice run into the box on 52 minutes prior to a Sánchez shot from the edge of the box being easily held by Myhill.                          

    Carles Gil – 6 – Looked decent enough when he had the ball at his feet. Had an effort on goal deflected after Gabby had had pulled the ball back to him inside of the box on 26 minutes.            

    Ashley Westwood - 4 – Flashed a shot wide of the post on 24 minutes but made little positive impression yesterday. He can and needs to do so much better than this.                                        

    Jack Grealish – 5 – He was not at his best yesterday and came up against a side who allowed him little to no room to play in. He will learn from games like this. Jack did not make the sort of impact we and I am sure he has become accustomed to making which was disappointing given he is a local lad and so was fully aware of the importance of this game to us. He will have much better days such as on Tuesday night I trust.                  

    Carlos Sánchez – 7 – MOTM – Carlos is a rare player who can hold his head high after this game. He was very solid and tidied up very well when in defensive positions. Sadly he did not have enough support alongside him to turn the tide in midfield but this was a very encouraging display from him.      

    Scott Sinclair – 4 – We could have done with one of his goals yesterday but his contribution had been minimal before his half time substitution.      

    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 4 – Gabby was never going to win balls in the air against Albion’s towering defenders but that did not stop us putting ball after ball to him in the air particularly in the first half. He surprisingly did win one or two, occasionally looked interested by chasing after the ball and did produce a 69th minute cross that Myhill gathered at the second attempt. But this was not a derby day for him to remember and he caused very little concern to the defenders he came up against. If selected on Tuesday he will need to show a lot more if he is to retain a starting place albeit the queue to replace him is a short one.                

    Substitutes:

    Rudy Gestede – 4 - Replaced Sinclair at half time but failed to provide the spark we were looking for up front. Was unchallenged when he connected with a Bacuna cross on 91 minutes but his header sailed harmlessly over the bar.    

    Leandro Bacuna – Replaced Gil on 76 minutes and was not on long enough to merit a rating.   

    Jordan Veretout - Replaced Sánchez on 82 minutes. Jordan was not given long enough on the field to earn a rating. 

    Up the Villa!

    John Lewis

  8. John
    We had an opportunity to do the double over a team yesterday, to get a fourth league win this season, to end a losing run that threatens to give us another unwanted club record and to delay our inevitable relegation by getting a better result than Norwich were able to manage. We failed to do any of those things.
    The game had the look of an end of season match throughout with neither team looking like they had anything left to play for this season. We have admittedly played that way for most of this sad season but our visitors didn’t look that much better yesterday. They are the 11th team to leave Villa Park this season with all three points and they like others before them proved you do not need to be at your best to beat us.
    Another goal conceded just before half time followed by another one we gift wrapped for our opponents left us two goals behind and gave Bournemouth their first ever win at Villa Park. These goals left us reliant on Palace giving us a short stay on our execution which they did with their first league win of the year and ensured Ayew’s welcome late goal would be only scant consolation. 
    This was our eighth successive league defeat. It leaves us just three defeats away from equalling our worst ever run of league defeats which was the 11 that we managed to put together in 1963. The record may well stand at 13 by the end of this embarrassing season which will see an end our 29-year stay in the top flight.
    Who would have thought that after our win at Bournemouth on the first day of the season that the two clubs would be in their respective league positions today? Very few if any but both clubs are where their results since then prove they deserve to be. After our winning start to this season we might have asked ourselves, what could possibly go wrong? We now know the answer to that question only too well.
    The team selection yesterday was surprising to say the very least. Starts for the likes of Richardson and Bacuna were as unexpected for Villa fans as I suspect they were for the players themselves but the end result as well as the performance is much the same whoever wears our shirt at the moment. For me the only highlight from a game of lowlights was the chant of “we score when we want” in response to our late goal.  
    We now need to stop messing around at board level and talk to prospective managers about their willingness to take the job of Villa manager this season so they have an opportunity to assess the players we have and the players we will need to bring in to halt our slide!
    Of the managers currently available Pearson looks most likely to want to take the now poisoned chalice that I anticipate Moyes and other jobless managers might be less keen to accept. I guess managers with clubs who have a real prospect of promotion would be reluctant to jump ship before their current club’s immediate future is known and that managers who may face losing their current jobs before or early in the summer would want to stick around to be paid off by their current clubs. We would also I guess be reluctant to pay too much compensation to prise managers away from their current clubs. We need someone who can sort things out in the way that Graham Taylor did for us when we last went down and we need him now not in 2 or 3 months time!  
    My player ratings from a game that left us all knowing that the end is nigh are:
    Brad Guzan – 4 – Turned a Grabban shot from the edge of the area past the post a couple of minutes before I and a couple of hundred others had taken our seats after 7 minutes of protest. Came for a cross on 81 minutes but missed it by some distance. Not called upon often during this game but his confidence is undoubtedly shot.
    Leandro Bacuna – 2 – Did what we have come to expect from him lately which was not very much.
    Ciaran Clark – 4 – Headed a Westwood corner well wide of the post on 49 minutes and headed another one a yard wide on 76 minutes. Was our hardest working and most effective defender until he failed to bring under control a 74th minute pass back from Cissokho and King raced past him and into the box before touching the ball over the grounded Guzan for their decisive second goal.
    Joleon Lescott – 4 – Tried to organise the defenders around him but he needs to lead by example and does not appear to have the legs to do that at this stage of his career in the top flight.
    Aly Cissokho – 4 – Produced a couple of half decent crosses when getting forward.   
    Jordan Lyden – 5 – Did more than well enough for me to have not been the one to not come out for the second half.  
    Ashley Westwood – 3 – He has gone backwards during this season and has become a shadow of the player he has been for us in the past.
    Idrissa Gana – 5 – He was once again our best midfield player.
    Kieran Richardson – 2 – Missed a splendid opportunity to equalize in the 59th minute when Ayew made a good run into the box before crossing to him at the near post where he failed to tap it in and instead somehow managed to allow the ball to go through his legs.
    Scott Sinclair – 3 – Made a couple of decent wide runs early on and showed fleeting signs of the player he has been in the past but faded noticeably before his substitution.  
    Jordan Ayew – 5 – MOTM – Scored our late consolation goal on 85 minutes when Gana threaded the ball to him near the edge of the box and he hit a sweet shot past Boruc. Jordan was our biggest if not our only threat to the visitors defence but on the minus side he was lucky to escape with just a booking in the second half when he led with his shoulder in a challenge with Elphick. I can understand his frustration but will he ever learn?  
    Substitutes:
    Rudy Gestede – 3 –Replaced Lyden at half time and made no positive impression on the game. I have my doubts that he will set the Championship alight with a flood of goals when he returns there with us next season.  
    Adama Traoré – 5 - Replaced Sinclair on 71 minutes. A welcome return from injury and surely he should start games between now and the end of this season after all what have we to lose?
    Jack Grealish – Replaced Richardson on 84 minutes. Why didn’t he start this game? Jack for some reason beyond me was not on long enough to gain a rating or to make an impression on this game. 
    Down and out with barely a whimper Villa!

    John Lewis

  9. John
    This was no way to celebrate 120 years of football at Villa Park. On Easter Saturday 1897 in our double winning season we played our first game at Villa Park beating Blackburn 3-0. On Easter Saturday 2017 at Villa Park, we lost 3-1 to promotion chasing Reading and face a second season outside of the top flight next season.    
    Reading recorded their first ever win at Villa Park yesterday after 105 years of trying yesterday. They claimed a 3-1 win which was in stark contrast to the 7-1 defeat they had suffered at Norwich last weekend.
    There was to be no sixth successive home win and clean sheet for Villa yesterday. We instead reprised several previous losing performances this season which had cost us the play-off place that yesterday’s win all but secured for our visitors.
    Reading were not really that good yesterday but they did not need to be because we gifted them three goals and missed all but one of the chances that we created. They simply wanted it more than we did. Reading had something to play for and we did not and it showed. They were quicker, first to the ball, put in stronger challenges and took full advantage of some incredibly weak refereeing.  
    For us the season is now effectively over and the unlikely dream of a late run for the play-offs has become a mathematical impossibility. Nevertheless, we need to finish this season strongly to build some impetus and confidence to bring into next season when automatic promotion will be the minimum requirement. Now is not time for us to throw in the towel. We have 4 games remaining, one of which is a ding-dong derby against our relegation threatened neighbours. A performance such as the one that we produced yesterday will not be acceptable in any of those games we have left to play and particularly when we return to Villa Park next weekend!
    Villa had that end of season look upon them from the start yesterday. Our captain gave us an equalizer on 14 minutes that cancelled out their 6th minute opener but we didn’t really kick on from there. Any lingering hope of a late comeback were expunged when Bacuna was unhesitatingly adjudged to have brought down Kelly to concede a late penalty which gave them a 2-goal cushion.
    Yesterday we lost a home game for the first time since we lost 2 in 4 days in mid-February and this was a sad return to the sort of performances that we had hoped we had put behind us. We gained only 1 point from our first 8 games of 2017 and yesterday we had the look of a team that could end the season in much the same dismal manner.  
    The Villa Park screens regularly thanked those fans who have bought season tickets for next season already. Another win would have been a better way to have shown it! Our recent home wins have been hard won and hard fought. Visiting teams have tended to leave feeling they were unlucky to have come away with nothing. Yesterday we got what our display deserved and that was nothing. We leaked goals and again found it hard to convert our chances. Games are not won or drawn by doing that.
    Our target should now be a place in the top 8. We have 4 points to make up in our remaining 4 games and it would be nice if the performances in those matches warranted an end of season “lap of appreciation” after a 4th successive league win or at the least a 2nd successive home win. Make it so Villa!              
    My player ratings from a game that brought an end to our unbeaten six game home run and gave us our third home defeat of the season are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Got down well to save a 26th minute shot from outside of the box from Swift at his right-hand post. Did well to block a 57th minute Grabban effort at the near post but guessed the wrong way when diving to his right as the ball went in on the left for their third.        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Did most of what we have come to expect from him of late.             
    James Chester - 7 – MOTM – Solid at the back, scored and nearly claimed a late second. Headed a 14th minute Hourihane corner into the corner of the net for our equalizer and was inches wide of the post when diving full length to get on the end of a nicely weighted 87th minute ball in from Hourihane.    
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Did not seem quite as composed as he has looked of late but still gave a pretty steady central defensive display.     
    Jordan Amavi – 4 – Presented the ball to Grabban when attempting to play the ball back to either Hourihane or Baker which led to their 6th minute opener. Didn’t stay on Grabban who was therefore allowed space behind him that Baker was unable to close-down for their second. He is a much better player than he showed us yesterday on his return to a deeper role in our line-up.  
    Albert Adomah – 4 – This game passed him by.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Got a foot to an attempted 3rd minute clearance from Al Habsi that landed near the far post and was then cleared much to the keeper’s relief. Got a touch on a 13th minute Jedinak shot from the edge of the box that needed a good reaction save from Al Habsi to keep it out.     
    Mile Jedinak - 5 – Not quite at his best yesterday but he was not alone in that.       
    Leandro Bacuna – 3 – Hit an attempted 45th minute clearance when unbalanced straight to Grabban on the edge of the box but fortunately he hit his shot straight at Johnstone as Amavi put in a challenge. Conceded the 78th minute penalty that put the game beyond us when his left arm connected with Lyden who went down like he had been hit by a sniper. This was a long way off the sort of performance that he would have needed to have produced to retain his starting place for me.    
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Hit a decent 29th minute shot from around 25 yards that flew just over the bar and hit another from the edge of the box on 83 minutes that did the same.   
    Jonathan Kodjia – 6 – Given no protection whatsoever by the referee who given he hails from Newcastle surprisingly gave defenders the freedom to hold him whenever he might otherwise have had an opportunity to strike. Found inside the box by a long 6th minute ball from Amavi and hit a shot that Al Habsi got down low to save at the near post. Hit a first-time effort from a Hutton cross wide of the post on 9 minutes. Got up well but then headed a 54th minute Hourihane corner over the bar. Stretched a foot to reach a nice ball to the far post from Hourihane that he was unable to turn in and that might have been better left for Adomah who was lurking behind him. Had a 77th minute shot deflected wide. Jonathan cannot score every week and when he doesn’t our chances of winning are drastically reduced.         
    Substitutes:
    Scott Hogan – 5 - Replaced Amavi on 62 minutes. Jedinak turned the ball back to him inside the box on 68 minutes but he skied the ball over when an equalizer had looked on.       
    Jack Grealish – Replaced Baker on 76 minutes. Made little impression on the game. Curled an attempt high and wide of the far post on 93 minutes. Jack was not on long enough to merit a rating.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  10. John
    We have grown frustratingly accustomed to conceding goals and dropping valuable points during the last 5 minutes of games this season but this time we scored rather than conceded one late in a game. 
    We were really abysmal in the first half. Playing three central defenders did not work for us and our defence was shaky at best in the first 45 minutes. Our midfield was none existent and we posed a minimal threat up front. Newcastle will have been disappointed to have only been one up at the break having dominated the game and brushed us aside all too easily. Am I alone in thinking that our target was a 0-0 draw until they scored?     
    The second half was a different story. We dispensed with the formation we had started with and went to a back four replacing Baker with Tshibola. We looked better at the start of the second half although it would have been very difficult to have looked any worse. We were more competitive and positive. Newcastle thought they already had the points in the bag and took their foot off the pedal. When Diame missed a great opportunity on 64 minutes to give the visitors a two-goal cushion our belief grew and we increasingly took the game to them. In the 88th minute having hit a post, having had a goal disallowed for offside and a penalty appeal turned down we got the goal that our spirited second half comeback deserved.            
    This was our first league meeting with Newcastle outside of the top flight since 1938. It was the first time two Champions League winning managers had met outside of the top flight. Our equalizer was also our first goal from a corner since the first game of last season. This hard earned point showed Newcastle it can prove more difficult than might be anticipated to see a game out, it took us out of the bottom six and it stopped our visitors from extending the points difference between the two clubs from 7 to 10.   
    It was a positive that RDM changed things at half time but equally it was a negative that his initial choices made that necessary It was nice to see another team impatiently waiting for the final whistle at the end rather than us and this encouraging battling second half performance needs to be used as a springboard to an upturn in both our results and confidence.      
    My player ratings from a game that produced boos at the end of the first half and applause at the end of the second in what was a real game of two halves are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 7 – He is beginning to look like he could prove to be a bargain buy. Looking increasingly steady and growing in confidence he did well on 25 minutes when Elphick’s attempted headed clearance instead fell to Ritchie just inside the box who went past Baker all too easily before Pierluigi blocked his effort. Had no chance with the own goal and spared Elphick’s blushes with a good stop from Gayle on 36 minutes. Pushed a solid shot from Shelvey from outside of the box to his left where Amavi was at hand to clear on 53 minutes.      
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Inexplicably played at wing back rather than in the more forward role for which he was bought and that was occupied by Bacuna yesterday. Did a surprisingly decent job at the back but was far more effective when he got further forward. Needs to start ahead of Bacuna.   
    James Chester - 6 – The most effective of our three central defenders yesterday.       
    Tommy Elphick – 4 – This was some way off being a confident and assured performance. Tommy looked jittery more than once and turned in Yedlin’s 28th minute cross with his right foot under pressure from Gayle for their goal. At times it pays to clear the ball first time rather than to try to play it out of defence when under pressure. That time came in the 36th minute when our captain wanted too long on the ball after Jedinak had played it back to him in the middle of his own half and Gayle took it off him ran clear and was only denied by Gollini’s left leg when in a one against one situation. Headed an Ayew corner wide on 85 minutes when unmarked.
    Nathan Baker – 5 – Substituted at half time. Did well to win the ball from Gayle who had cut past Elphick when a second goal had looked on.
    Jordan Amavi – 7 – Made some very good forward runs. Hit a nice cross on 31 minutes that was just too high for Adomah to get his head to and hit another to the same player who stretched to reach it but was unable to manage to turn it towards goal.    
    Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Won a 9th minute challenge in the centre circle but having ran to the edge of the box delayed pulling the trigger and Gouffran got back to steal the ball away from him. If he is to play it should be at full back if he is deemed to be a better choice there than is Hutton or even Richards who unlike Leo remains persona non grata at the club.
    Ashley Westwood – 5 – Substituted on 85 minutes he continues to be a long way off his best of a couple of seasons ago.
    Mile Jedinak – 5 – Marginally offside when he headed a 68th minute Ayew free kick past the keeper and into the net. Hit some misplaced passes and struggled for pace at times in a midfield that did not really get going until the last half hour or so of the game.      
    Jordan Ayew – 7 – Far too quiet in the first half but he did suffer from a lack of service. Burst into life in the second half and did a lot to make our comeback happen. He hit a number of accurate corners and free-kicks that put the visitor’s defence under increasing pressure and made some threatening runs. So unlucky on 72 minutes when he ran from a wide position to the edge of the box before curling a shot that hit the far post with the keeper beaten. Took the ball off Shelvey as he attempted to move the ball further away from his own penalty area before running into the area and playing a ball into the 6-yard box that Kodjia was so near to getting a foot to at the near post before the relieved Sels gathered it on 91 minutes.    
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – Like Jordan he was starved of service but he kept looking for the ball and looking to make runs at defenders. Adomah played a good ball down the line to him in the 4th minute but having run into the box he delayed taking a shot which allowed Clark to get into position to make a block. Flagged offside on 43 minutes after Jedinak had played a fine ball to him from just inside the visitor’s half and his shot from near the penalty spot was saved by Sels.   
    Substitutes:
    Aaron Tshibola – 8 – MOTM - Replaced Baker for the second half and his introduction did much to change the course of this match. Played a nice one-two with Ayew on the edge of the box on 79 minutes and was booked for hitting the deck rather than awarded a penalty after a defender had made contact with him without making any serious attempt to win the ball inside of the box. Headed in our equalizer on 88 minutes at the far post which went past the keeper and in off the post. He shows a lot of promise, was our best midfield player by some distance and we can only hope he can now stay injury free.     
    Rudy Gestede – 5 - Replaced Adomah on 63 minutes. Headed wide from an Ayew cross on 70 minutes and had an effort from just outside of the area pushed around the post for a 92nd minute corner by Sels.
    Rushian Hepburn-Murphy – Came on for Westwood on 85 minutes and did not look out of place. Rushian was not on quite long enough to earn a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  11. John
    This should have been a more comfortable win. We had the chances to have put the game out of sight before our penalty gave us a two-goal cushion. As we all know a two-goal lead can more than occasionally not prove enough for us. This so nearly proved to be the case again yesterday.   
    Our visitors who had for 75 minutes looked like a team that were on the bottom of the table and destined to give us a rare routine victory were injected with belief by a goal out of nothing by Sears.
    After that goal our insecurities and defensive frailties were exposed, and we were left clinging on to the win as our opponents suddenly realised a point might be there for the taking after all. Had it not been for the timely intervention of a post and the hand of Tommy, we might even have somehow managed to lose this one.   
    Nevertheless, win we did for the first time at Villa Park in two months. This win needs to be followed up by our signing of much needed reinforcements before the transfer window slams shut next week and by a win at Reading next weekend who like Ipswich also occupy one of the relegation places.
    This timely win has moved us back into the top half of the table and above Small Heath who now occupy a more accustomed place in the bottom half themselves. We are also within four points of sixth place and another ticket to the play off lottery.   
    My player ratings from a game during which we rediscovered that winning feeling are:
    Lovre Kalinic – 6 – The clean sheet that appeared likely for much of this game would have done a lot to boost Lovre’s confidence. Stood no realistic chance with their goal which was sweetly struck by Sears from 30 yards and flew past him at speed into the top corner of the net. Gathered a 45th minute Chalobah shot in the centre of his goal. Should have had that yellow card when he was booked for time wasting when waiting for a substitution to be made rescinded, but the referee is always right even when he’s wrong!  
    Alan Hutton – 6 – He again looked at his best when he was getting forward.         
    James Chester - 5 – Did well enough, given that he is carrying an injury.    
    Tommy Elphick – 6 – Quaner ran between Chester and Tommy before going past Kalinic and hitting a shot which Elphick blocked with his trailing arm as he fell with Chester behind him covering on the line on 73 minutes. He was the best of our defenders yesterday.             
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Will he still be our first choice when this transfer window has closed?             
    Glenn Whelan – 6 – Did what we have come to expect but was more effective than of late at doing it, he understandably tired in the second half.                
    John McGinn – 8 – Hit a shot wide of the post on 4 minutes after Abraham had found him inside of the box. Turned superbly leaving Skuse for dead before running towards the and hitting a 31st minute shot that was too hot for Bialkowski to hold but Adomah was ruled offside when he hit the spilled ball into the net. Turned inside the box on 33 minutes and hit a shot that was not firm enough to seriously trouble Bialkowski who made a comfortable save at his left-hand post.
    Hit a 41st minute shot from outside of the box that Bialkowski was unable to hold onto but Collins was on hand to put the loose ball out for a corner. Hit a 53rd minute Hutton cross wide of the post and then hit a 64th minute Taylor cross over the bar. John was prevented by Judge from getting on the end of a Hourihane corner which resulted in the penalty that produced our second goal. On another day he could have scored a couple of goals himself. Importantly John continues to avoid the 10th yellow card that would bring him a 2-game suspension.
    Conor Hourihane – 6 – Hit a 35th minute free kick from outside of the box that Bialkowski held at the second attempt as Abraham came in intent on adding a second. Hit another on 43 minutes that the keeper saved more routinely. His dead ball delivery was again impressive.    
    Albert Adomah – 5 – A marked improvement on last week’s display. Looked more interested, had an impact upon the game and could have gathered some much-needed confidence had his 31st minute finish not been ruled offside. Worked well with Hutton but can do better.       
    Anwar El Ghazi – 5 – Looked brighter than of late and more energetic but he is lacking an end product. He has shown that he can be more of a threat to defences than this.           
    Tammy Abraham – 8 – MOTM – Where would we be without his goals? Tammy weighed in with another brace yesterday. Hit our early 6th minute opener when he got in front of the visitor’s defence to be first to and to prod home Hourihane’s perfectly placed free kick. Coolly sent Bialkowski the wrong way from the penalty spot on 61 minutes, stroking the ball into the right-hand corner.
    Forced a save from Bialkowski on 36 minutes with a header from a McGinn cross and another on 65 minutes when he tipped his shot over the crossbar. Had a tame effort saved on 85 minutes but almost added a late third on 88 minutes when his shot was blocked at close range by the busy Bialkowski at his left-hand post.       
    Substitutes:
    Ahmed Elmohamady - 4 – Replaced Adomah on 68 minutes and demonstrated why he is currently spending his time on the bench rather than starting when he came on.   
    Jonathan Kodjia - Came on for Whelan on 78 minutes. Looked busy and better than he has done of late in the time he had on the field, but he was not on long enough to gather a rating.    
    Mile Jedinak – Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Replaced El Ghazi on 85 minutes to stiffen our defensive resolve, so that we would hold on to what we had. Not on long enough to earn a rating.  
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  12. John
    This was our first Boxing Day win since 2005 and the first time we have won 5 successive home league games since season 1992-93 when we won 7 on the trot and Villa Park was a fortress, as it now threatens to become again.
    Burton arrived for the first ever game between the two teams to face an all but full Villa Park. We opened the scoring after 15 minutes but instead of pressing for a decisive second goal we then surrendered too much space in the midfield to our visitors.
    Burton came increasingly into the game and scored a spectacular equalizer 16 minutes after we had gone ahead. For much of the rest of the game they had looked the more likely of the two sides to get a winner and they were perhaps unlucky to leave Villa Park with nothing to show for their efforts. But our first two substitutions made a real impact on this game and rather than concede as the end of a game neared we continued with our new-found habit of clinching a late winner.      
    This was not the sort of game that will have the extra visitors to Villa Park wanting to rush back to see more of the same but it again demonstrated that under Steve Bruce we have found the happy habit of winning games when we are below par. That gets teams promoted but we may need more than that later this week to win a sixth successive home game against high flying Leeds United. We owe them one after our recent defeat at Elland Road and we need to cut the gap between us and them sooner rather than later.        
    My player ratings from a Boxing Day game that 41,337 fans attended and which took us above the club that dwell on the dark side of the city are:
    Mark Bunn – 7 – Reacted very well to get a hand to a Brayford header in the fourth minute of stoppage time having got down low to save a shot from the edge of the box from the same player on 25 minutes. Had no chance with Ward’s 31st minute equalizer from a Brayford cross but although the finish was sublime he was allowed too much space with both Hutton and Gardner staying static some way off him. Mark was relieved to see Dyer’s shot hit the post on 73 minutes when beaten. Made decent saves from Ward on 35 minutes and from O’Grady on 77 minutes.    
    Alan Hutton – 5 – Not the easiest of afternoons for Alan and he found some difficulty in coping with Dyer at times.   
    James Chester - 6 – Solid when he needed to be.      
    Nathan Baker – 7 – A rock in our defence who did the simple things right without any unnecessary frills.
    Jordan Amavi – 6 – Seemed to have his mind elsewhere early on but got more into the game as it wore on.
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Hit the ball harmlessly over on 62 minutes after a Bacuna cross had fallen to him after Kodjia had failed to connect with it.    
    Gary Gardner - 5 – Substituted at half time having picked up a knock on 43 minutes.
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Solid as a barrier in front of our defence which is what he is there for but he cannot be expected to do the whole of our midfield’s job on his own.  
    Leandro Bacuna – 7 –  MOTM - A good hard working all round display if still a little bit below the Champions League standard that he set for himself last year! Scored our opener on 15 minutes. He started and finished the move playing the ball out wide to Adomah who hit an inviting cross into the box which Leo headed home powerfully having run on into the box. Hit an effort just wide of the post 4 minutes earlier after the keeper had pushed out a Hutton cross to him inside of the box and McCormack had not got a touch to help the ball in as it sailed past him.
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Hit our late winner on 78 minutes. Adomah fed Ayew on the right who hit a nice low cross that evaded both McLaughlin and Brayford before Ross controlled the ball at the far post with his left foot and hit it home with his right. I hope he will take confidence from this goal as we will need him to have his shooting boots on next month.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Hit a fierce shot from the left on the 80th minute that was off target. Some way off his excellent penetrative best yesterday.        
    Substitutes:
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Replaced Gardner at half time and brought us some needed creativity. Played a one-two with McCormack before jinking into the box and hitting the ball with his left foot which deflected off McLaughlin into the path of Kodjia who tapped the ball in on the 52nd minute only to be adjudged to have been offside.    
    Jordan Ayew – 7 - Replaced Jedinak on 75 minutes and looked keen to make a positive impression in the short time that he had available to do so. Claimed an assist with the low cross that produced our winner and proved a significant threat to Burton following his introduction. An impressive few minutes and a marked improvement on what he had produced in recent games that he has started.      
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – Replaced Kodjia on the 86th minute and showed some energy by chasing down opponents but was not on long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa & A Happy Promotion New Year to all readers!
    John Lewis
  13. John
    Yesterday’s win was our first since March. We really had to break the losing habit quickly and we did it in our first home game of the season to provide a much needed confidence boost to both players and fans.
    Alan Stubbs said following this defeat “We won’t be the last team to come here and get beat”. I hope he is proved right and that Villa Park soon becomes a fortress for us.
    Rotherham gave a workmanlike performance yesterday but they offered little threat and we will face tougher tests this season at home and away. But we have to beat teams like this if we are to challenge for promotion this season and we did this with something to spare yesterday. We now need to claim a second home win on Tuesday night against Huddersfield which was something that proved beyond pre-season promotion favourites Newcastle yesterday.  
    This is a new Villa team and of yesterday’s starters only six of them were with us last season. We have a new owner and a new management team. The fans responded yesterday by creating a positive atmosphere and by turning up in their numbers. The team achieved the result we needed and had been waiting for.  
    This is the first time we have scored 3 goals in the league at Villa Park since May 2015. We faced the same opposition at Villa Park in our first home game after our 1967 relegation and won that one 3-1. Let us hope we get back where we belong at the first attempt this time as we did in 87-88.         
    My player ratings from a first home game and win of the season are:
    Pierluigi Gollini – 6 – A quiet afternoon but he was reliable when called upon. Gathered a shot from outside the box on the 46th minute at the second attempt, got down at the post 12 minutes later to save comfortably enough and made a couple of punched clearances.   
    Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Leo got something he and I would not have anticipated yesterday some applause and a suggestion of being given another chance from the fans as he awaits his move to a Champions League outfit. He produced a decent enough performance.  
    Tommy Elphick - 7 – He is a real leader on the field and looks a bargain. Organised our defence very well, led by example and was vocal when needed. He and the rest of our defence will face tougher tests than this one but this was a seriously promising home debut.  
    James Chester – 6 – A solid start so soon after joining us.  
    Aly Cissokho – 7 – Forced a one handed save from Camp on 5 minutes which kept out a shot that was otherwise heading for the top corner after Tshibola had found him on the edge of the box and hit the cross that produced our first goal.  
    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Produced a solid performance.
    Aaron Tshibola – 7 – A very promising home debut. Hit a shot wide of the post on 50 minutes after Grealish had cut into the box and unselfishly fed him rather than tried a shot himself. He hit a shot wide on 66 minutes from outside of the box after Ayew had squared the ball for him following a terrific run.
    Jack Grealish – 8 – Scored a sublime goal in front of the Holte End on 84 minutes. Cissokho took a throw near the half way line that Gestede nodded nicely into Jack’s path. Jack then ran into the box pushing the ball wide of first a defender and then the keeper before stroking the ball home from a narrow angle to the despair of a defender behind him who had not quite been able to get a challenge in on him. This goal and aspects of his performance cannot help but give Jack the confidence he needed to shine this season. Had earlier been found by a clever touch by McCormack on 62 minutes and ran from just inside their half to the box before producing a weak finish.    
    Jordan Ayew – 6 – Made a great run on 52 minutes before hitting an inviting cross for Gestede which he turned wide of the post. Some very good moments but he needs to produce them a little more frequently.    
    Ross McCormack – 6 – Like Harry Kane did for England during the summer Ross is taking the lion’s share of our free-kicks and corners. As yet the results have not been too dissimilar. But these are very early days and once he has settled into his new surroundings I have no doubt that the goals will flow along with the assists. Ross did claim a big assist for our second goal which gave us the breathing space we needed to see this game out without undue alarm. He also had a 46th minute shot from outside of the box turned around the post by Camp. Nice to see a player that wants the ball!
    Rudy Gestede – 8 – MOTM – Rudy’s performance yesterday suggested that he has found his level and that we may yet benefit from having him amongst our available striking options this season. Jack found Cissokho nicely inside of the box and his sweet 21st minute cross was headed beyond the reach of Camp and into the corner of the net by Rudy for our opening goal. He added a second in the final minute of first half stoppage time after Ayew had played the ball to McCormack on the edge of the box and played a clever first time ball past the Rotherham defenders for Rudy to run onto and to chip over the advancing Camp. Headed a Bacuna cross wide of the post on 29 minutes and failed to get a touch to a nice ball played across the face of the goal 4 minutes later.
    Substitutes:
    Adama Traoré – Replaced Ayew on 74 minutes. His pace could prove too much for defenders at this level to cope with. He did not see quite enough of the ball to lead to his getting a rating yesterday.   
    Gary Gardner – Came on for McCormack on 85 minutes so had insufficient time to earn a rating.
    Andre Green – Replaced Jack on 92 minutes so also did not have the time on the field to gather a rating.       
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
     
  14. John
    It has been 3 months and we have gone 12 games since we last tasted defeat. It is still disagreeable to see visiting fans celebrating a win at Villa Park and it is even worse for their team to be picking up the Championship trophy afterwards, as was the case yesterday. The last time we ended a game pointless, was against the team that we next face over two legs for a place in the playoff final. Our clear objective is now to ensure that we remain unbeaten in our next three games.
    Six of the players that started our last game and five of the players who started our last home game, started this one. The decision to rest players yesterday, was without doubt the right one. We have bigger fish to fry than Delia Smith, Ed Balls, Hugh Jackman and Stephen Fry’s boys in the coming weeks.
    The three play-off games that are to come, can provide us with the happy ending to this season that our recent tremendous run should culminate in. These crucial games will define our season. Win them and we will accompany Norwich back to the top flight, as they escorted us down to the Championship three years ago. Losing against our local rivals or in the final against either Leeds or Derby, would have an unthinkable impact on the makeup of our superb team. It just cannot happen!
    Yesterday’s game gave our visitors their first win at Villa Park since 1992. This win also resulted in them being promoted as champions. Victory in the play off games, will give us the opportunity to play our first choice eleven when we meet them next time and the outcome would I suspect be likely to be somewhat different. I look forward to seeing that game next season!            
    Norwich started strongly, like the game meant more to them than it did to us, which it did. They took an early lead, but we showed our resilience by equalising within 7 minutes and then shading the first half. Either side could have won it during the second half and there was little to choose between the two sides. The game appeared to be likely to end in a draw, which would have perhaps suited both clubs, but Norwich were greedy for more. As has so often proved the case this season, they stole the points in the last few minutes. That was cruel on the much-changed team that we put out yesterday, but we will get over it should our season end in promotion.  
    My player ratings from a game that was played in front of a packed Villa Park, during which we remembered those who had joined the ranks of the HEITS during the season on 20.18 minutes are:
    Jed Steer – 6 – He was relieved that Hernandez’s 45th minute curled shot from outside of the box struck the crossbar, with him well beaten. Did well to get his outstretched right hand to a 69th minute Stiepermann shot from the edge of the box and perhaps could have done the same with Vrancic’s 86th minute winner, which eluded the same outstretched hand, having been hit from very nearly the same place.    
    Alan Hutton – 6 – It was fitting to see him given the captaincy on what is likely to be his last league appearance in the claret and blue shirt that he has worked so hard to win, as well as hold during his time with us. It must have just been pure coincidence that we looked a tad susceptible on the right flank yesterday. Hats off to the Scottish Cafu!          
    Axel Tuanzebe - 6 – Seemed slow to react to the Hernandez cross that Pukki turned in, having got to the ball in front of him.      
    Kortney Hause – 6 – Needed the game.               
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Reliable again.                
    Albert Adomah – 6 – Surprisingly did the full 90 minutes.              
    Glenn Whelan – 7 – Poked a 45th minute shot just over from the edge of the box. Had another solid game in the middle.    
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – He’s not quite Jack but who is? Did a decent job yesterday and showed that he can play a part, if required in the games that are to come.            
    Conor Hourihane – 7 – Hit a sweet free kick that produced the equaliser. Curled a 30-yard shot just wide of the far post on 37 minutes.  
    Andre Green - 6 – Andre was unlucky that his goal-bound 17th minute shot from a central position in the penalty area, after Hutton’s cross found its way to him, was blocked by Aarons.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – 7 – MOTM – 3 goals in his last 4 games now. Johnny Danger is encouragingly living up to his nickname at the business end of the season. Did well to get in front of his marker and flick Hourihane’s perfectly placed free kick past Krul and into the far corner of the net on 14 minutes. Headed an accurate 33rd minute Hourihane cross just over the bar. A defender got a touch to a 37th minute ball played into the box for him from Adomah, but he got to the loose ball and his close-range effort was blocked by Krul’s legs at the near post. Gamely ran on to a poor 54th minute back pass played back into the box, that Godfrey just got to first, but sent the ball narrowly wide of the far post in doing so.                   
    Substitutes:
    Keinan Davis – 6 – Replaced Kodjia on 72 minutes and again looked both keen and capable.
    Birkir Bjarnason – Came on for a rare appearance replacing Lansbury on 80 minutes. Bikir was not on quite long enough to gain a rating.         
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  17. John
    We scored four goals at Villa Park for the first time in three years yesterday. Conor Hourihane scored our first hat-trick for two years and his own first. This our first win of the season took us from the bottom of the table up to 16th place. We also left the ground with smiles on our faces rather than frowns after this goal fest.  
    We conceded two goals and at times looked too shaky for comfort at the back. That is enough of negativity which was far outweighed by the positives yesterday. We scored four, could easily had another two and we played positive, flowing, attacking football. Each time they scored and threatened to peg us back we responded with a goal of our own to ease our fraying nerves.  
    Let us hope that this result marks a turning point in our season. An away win at Bristol City on Friday looks far less unlikely than it did on Saturday morning and that would take us into the top half of the table and within reach of the top six. Make it so Villa!
    My player ratings from a game that demonstrated that you can win games with kids are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Had hearts in mouths when he raced outside of his box on the 38th minute when attempting to intercept a ball that had gone past our defenders but narrowed the angle well on the 50th minute when Naismith’s near post shot hit the side netting. Had little chance with both of their goals.         
    Alan Hutton – 4 – Given a tough afternoon particularly in the minutes prior to his 64th minute substitution by the lively and pacey Murphy. Hutton allowed him to get goal side of him for their first on the hour mark and was beaten easily 2 minutes later by the same player whose cross led to a goalmouth melee that was settled by a clearance from Johnstone. Difficult to see a reason for him to continue to start games instead of either Bree or De Laet given his current form.             
    James Chester - 6 – Really should have been on target with an unchallenged diving header from a 55th minute Hourihane free kick that flew harmlessly over the bar.     
    John Terry – 6 – Neither he nor Taylor picked up Oliveira in the 79th minute when the forward was left unmarked to hit their second.        
    Neil Taylor – 6 – A solid enough defensive display and he also got forward well at times. 
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – Hit the bar in the 4th minute of stoppage time after Bree had switched the ball back to him inside of the box.
    Josh Onomah – 6 – Substituted on the half hour having sustained an injury.          
    Glenn Whelan – 7 – Much more involved yesterday and this played a part in Conor and Henri having the opportunity to move forward more often than they had been doing previously. Hit an on-target effort from the edge of the box on 37 minutes which was inadvertently blocked by Davis.
    Conor Hourihane – 9 – MOTM – As the late Bruce Forsyth often said, “Didn’t he do well?” It is not often that a midfield player gets a hat-trick but Conor did so yesterday producing the sort of performance he regularly gave for Barnsley which led us to sign him. He needs to have licence to get forward where he can be so dangerous from now onwards. Davis threaded the ball between 2 defenders on the 19th minute to Conor but he hit his shot across the face of goal and inches wide. Onomah then won the ball near the half way line before hitting a nice ball for Davis to run onto. Keinan proceeded to hit a low cross that went between the goalkeeper and a defender before reaching Conor near the far post who hit home our 22nd minute opener with assurance. Lansbury fed Conor from a Taylor free-kick and his 68th minute 30-yard shot took a deflection off a defender on its way past the keeper and into the corner of the net. He completed his hat-trick on the 85th minute when Elmohamady found him in a central position a couple of yards outside of the box and he struck the ball low into the right-hand corner of the net. Almost turned home a fourth goal on 89 minutes but that effort was blocked.      
    Andre Green – 8 – Lansbury found him on the edge of the box on the 42nd minute and he then picked his spot curling the ball around a defender and into the top right-hand corner of the net to give us our second goal of the afternoon. He will do well to score a better goal than this one for us! Hit a 70th minute shot from the edge of the box just wide of the post and should have had a second goal to his name on the 94th minute when Elmohamady’s shot bounced to him off the bar only for his header to find Gunn’s hands rather than the back of the net.     
    Keinan Davis – 9 – Looked very, very promising yesterday. Held the ball up and led the line very well. Refused to be knocked off the ball and utilised his strength and determination throughout to give the central defenders he was up against a very difficult afternoon. Won the ball from Zimmermann on the 2nd minute and ran inside the box before hitting a shot which was blocked by the advancing Gunn’s legs. Taylor then found Green on the edge of the box whose inch perfect 16th minute cross was met by Davis but Gunn did well to get a hand to his header to keep it out. Ran onto a strong 24th minute header from inside his own half by Whelan and having got the better of a defender hit an effort from the edge of the box that struck the top of the crossbar. Denied by Gunn on the 64th minute when he ran onto a ball from Lansbury but could not turn the ball past the keeper.           
    Substitutes:
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Replaced Onomah on 30 minutes. Was not quite able to slide in to make contact with a good 35th minute Hourihane cross into the box. Looked to be belatedly in the process of forming a decent partnership alongside Conor today and he has surely done enough to start games from now on? 
    James Bree – 6 - Replaced Hutton on 64 minutes and we looked more secure after that.
    Chris Samba – Replaced Davis on 87 minutes. Was not on long enough to earn a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  18. John
    We have played better this season and lost. We have played better this season and drawn. I cannot recall us playing any worse for a very, very long time and winning. We may have won ugly at the end of what was a scrappy game but we did win it and that belatedly gave us our first win of 2017.  
    We now face what is a 6-pointer with Bristol City at Villa Park on Tuesday before travelling to bottom club Rotherham next weekend. These two clubs are now 6 and 22 points behind us respectively. Two more wins against these two clubs would give us three consecutive wins for the first time this season as well as take us to 45 points and that has been good enough to stay up in all but one of the last 6 seasons.    
    It wasn’t pretty yesterday. We had only 29% of the possession and only 2 shots on target. Steve McClaren (who could have made very good use of his trademark umbrella yesterday) said “I don’t know how we lost the game”. They lost it because they managed only one shot on target and because as we know to our own cost you don’t win games without scoring goals.      
    Derby are on the crest of their usual slump in results that appears to happen on or around this time of each season and which ruins their promotion hopes. Our season has been one long slump that was shortly interrupted by a new manager bounce.
    We never really got going yesterday and when we went ahead we seemed to spend the rest of the game trying to hold on grimly to our slender one goal lead. We managed to do so and claimed a rare clean sheet in the process although we were holding on desperately in the last 15 minutes to the extent that we looked like the away side. We defended too deep in the second half and surrendered the initiative to the visitors all too readily. Having said that, I said before the game that a dour 1-0 win would do nicely and that is just what we got!           
    My player ratings from a game that brought back that winning feeling to Villa Park after a dire run of 7 defeats from our previous 8 games are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Although our visitors had a lot of the ball Sam was only really tested once. He came through that test well touching a good Bent header over the bar on 75 minutes. This clean sheet cannot do any harm to his confidence.       
    Alan Hutton – 6 – A solid defensive performance. Someone other than Alan might have scored on 59 minutes when the ball dropped to him inside the box but he took far too much time before pulling the trigger and his eventual shot was blocked.         
    James Chester - 7 – MOTM – Solid as usual at the back. James had a 7th minute header from a Lansbury free-kick into the box touched over the bar by Carson after Jedinak had headed the ball on to him. He then went on to score what turned out to be our winner on 24 minutes. Kodjia got a touch to a Lansbury corner that took the ball into Chester’s path. The ball flicked up off our captain’s left thigh for him to then head in from close range.   
    Nathan Baker – 6 – Solid alongside Chester but was fortunate not to concede a 34th minute penalty when he brought down Bent inside the box.     
    Neil Taylor – 5 – Looks to be more comfortable when defending rather than when trying to get forward. Needs more games under his belt to show his best but he needs to show more than this to keep Amavi out of the first team reckoning by his performances alone.  
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Some way off his best yesterday and made only a limited impact up front.
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Surprisingly found himself playing up front as a loan striker after Kodjia was substituted on 88 minutes and was then walking off the pitch 4 minutes into stoppage time having deservedly been sent off. Might have settled things on 89 minutes when Carson’s attempted clearance when under pressure from Gardner found him near the edge of the box but his first-time effort was high, wide and far from handsome. He then reacted wildly to what looked a very poor decision by a linesman to give a throw in against him by going forehead to forehead with the official. Once he did this having lost control of himself we were left playing out the rest of this game and no doubt at least the next three games without him. Any positives he might have otherwise taken from this game were therefore undone by one moment of madness.            
    Henri Lansbury - 6 – Looked good particularly in the first half.    
    Mile Jedinak – 6 – Played a major role in trying to hold us together in the middle yesterday when we were under pressure as we often were. We miss him badly when he is out of the side.  
    Andre Green – 6 – Very quiet during the first third of the game but then made a couple of decent first half runs. Andre was very unlucky not to give us a second goal on 47 minutes when he stretched to get a diving header to a Bacuna cross that struck the post.
    Jonathan Kodjia – 5 – Lacked service and although he held up the ball well on occasions, worked hard and will claim an assist for our winner the lone striker role did not look well suited to him.
    Substitutes:
    Jordan Amavi – 5 – Replaced Adomah on 72 minutes. Jordan continues to look a shadow of the player he was before he was involved in transfer speculation. I assume his reaction to this speculation led Bruce to sign another full back who is currently starting games instead of him.       
    Birkir Bjarnason – 4 - Replaced Green on 74 minutes and made little if any impact on the game.      
    Gary Gardner – Replaced Kodjia on the 88th minute. Put himself about and looked lively in the very limited time he had available to do so which was not quite long enough to gather a rating.
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  21. John
    This was a dire game. Our visitors from the dark side of the city showed exactly why they are in real danger of relegation and we showed why we were unable to sustain a promotion challenge this season. But sometimes winning is everything!   
    Small Heath needed a win but they were not good enough to get one or a draw! We needed to put on a show for those 38,000 Villa fans that paid good money to witness this local derby but we lacked either the ability or the desire to put our opponents to the sword in the way that we had hoped we would. This was some way off being an end to end derby that will stick in our memories like some have in the past but the win will always be there on paper as will the impact it may ultimately have on the final league table.   
    The game was drifting towards a goalless draw before the introduction of Small Heath’s nemesis Gabby with just 31 minutes remaining. His introduction enthused the Villa fans or was it the Villa fans that inspired him to produce a match-winning performance?
    How our win and the fact that Gabby scored it with his first goal in 14 months must have rubbed salt into the wounds for our neighbours. They now need points from their two remaining games of the season or failing that favours from the teams that Blackburn (who are currently 2 points behind them) have left to play if they are to avoid the drop. Given we are Blackburn’s next opponents I’m sure that we will do everything we can to help them in their latest relegation battle. Should they sadly fail in that battle and we therefore lose the opportunity to play them next season I’m sure we will not take any pleasure whatsoever from that.   
    This win takes us back into the top half of the table, takes us over 60 points, extends our unbeaten league run against Bloose to 7-games and secures our rightful position as the cream of Brum.  
    My player ratings from a game before which we paid our respects to Ugo and after which the players celebrated a derby win with some gusto as did we are:
    Sam Johnstone – 6 – Seldom had any cause for concern but will have been relieved when Adams hit the best opportunity of the first half well over. Kept a 64th minute on-target effort from inside the box from Davis out with an outstretched hand.        
    Alan Hutton – 6 – Worked hard, wanted the win and once again demonstrated that he is comfortable at this level.             
    James Chester - 7 – Has had busier days but he held the defence together when needed and made his usual timely interventions. Headed a 63rd minute Lansbury free-kick well over the bar and played a part in the goal as did Baker and Hogan.     
    Nathan Baker – 7 – Commanding in the air today. His position is undoubtedly in the centre of the defence alongside Chester asking him to do anything else lessens his effectiveness markedly.      
    Neil Taylor – 7 – We looked much more assured at the back on his return. 
    Albert Adomah – 4 – This was another game that passed him by and we need to see so much more from him particularly in the final third of the field if he is to merit the starting place he was again given today.
    Henri Lansbury – 6 – Worked hard to secure the win but we really do need to work at getting the goals from him that he was able to produce for fun at Forest by next season by giving him the freedom to get forward more.     
    Mile Jedinak - 7 – So solid in the middle today. Made several strong challenges and won many a ball in the air with consummate ease.      
    Leandro Bacuna – 4 – Astonishing to see him start with Hourihane left on the bench. I struggle to see what he brought to the team today that Conor would not have been able to.     
    Jack Grealish – 5 – As a local lad I had expected much more from him today but he was given little space by the opposition and seemed reticent to make the sort of forward runs he is capable of prior to his substitution. 
    Scott Hogan – 5 – Suffered from a lack of service but did little to worry the defenders he came up against and showed that he needs a striker alongside him. Headed a 15th minute Bacuna cross wide that he stretched for but was unable to get high enough to direct.         
    Substitutes:
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – MOTM - Replaced Grealish on 59 minutes. He really was up for this one and he made the difference with this brief reprise of the sort of performance he once produced for us. He ran after lost causes like the Duracell bunny, won balls in the air and scored our sweet winner and his 5th goal against Small Heath on 68 minutes. Baker won the ball from a Lansbury corner which was then headed on by Chester before Baker headed on a partial clearance and Hogan got a slight touch on it before it fell to Gabby who moving back onto it clipped the ball into the top corner of the net with aplomb.    
    Gary Gardner – Replaced Adomah on 75 minutes. Not on quite long enough to earn a rating but showed a willingness to chase the ball down more than once.     
    Conor Hourihane – Replaced Hogan on 83 minutes. He needs to start games and as is the case with Lansbury we need to get him to the level he was consistently performing at with his former club by the start of next season. Not on long enough to gather a rating.     
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
  23. John
    The Villa lion showed the visiting canaries that there is still some life and fight left in him yesterday. A defeat would have left us doomed to relegation but this was a 6-pointer that we won due to hard work and determination on the pitch.
    There was not too much to choose between the two teams in the first half. Norwich are currently on the crest of a slump having now lost their last five games and the first goal was always going to be crucial given the brittle confidence of both teams. It was thankfully Villa that got it and crucially it arrived on the stroke of half time. We added another early in the second half and then showed a steely resolve to hold onto that two goal cushion.
    We took our chances, achieved a rare clean sheet and claimed our biggest league win of the season yesterday. We now live to fight another day, if we must go down it seems we might at least go down fighting and all hope is not yet quite lost!
    We have now won two of our last three home league games and drew the other one. We have taken 8 points from our last 5 league games which is a points ratio which if repeated in our remaining 13 games might yet see us avoid the drop. Those 8 points from 5 games have also doubled the number of points we had to our name after our first 20 games.
    Survival continues to appear to be a mission impossible but like Ethan Hunt is able to do on the big screen we might yet beat the odds as well. Each win like this one makes a great escape look a little more possible and a tad less far fetched.
    We are now just 4 points behind Sunderland and 7 points behind yesterday’s opponents. We are also now 8 points away from 17th place and safety which is currently occupied by Newcastle.
    The three clubs that are currently in front of us will now start to look over their shoulders at us. We have been written off by the press, pundits, opponents, our board and our “custodian” alike. They all might have to think again if we can add another home win next weekend.
     
    My player ratings from a game in which the result was more important than the performance and that took us up to 16 points which is a figure many of us had doubts that we could achieve in the whole of this season are:
    Mark Bunn – 5 – Parried away a strong Mbokani shot on 19 minutes and half came for a cross on 89 minutes only to be left in no man’s land as Martin’s header flew past him. 
    Michah Richards – 7 – Dependable at the back and also made some strong runs forward.    
    Joleon Lescott – 7 – MOTM – Gave us the lead on the stroke of half time which deflated our opponents and gave us some much needed confidence to take into the second half. Joleon got a downward header on Veretout’s 45th minute free kick at the far post which took a slight deflection before going through Rudd’s legs and into the net. He organised us well at the back and was determined to win each and every ball. Joleon also cleared an 89th minute Mbokani shot off the line.
    Jores Okore – 7 – Jores was so very reliable again in the heart of our defence and was in the right place at the right time to head a Martin header from a cross that Bunn came for but did not get to clear of the line.
    Aly Cissokho – 6 – Solid and committed at the back. This was his best performance since his return to Villa Park for me. 
    Leandro Bacuna – 6 – Hit a first time shot from a nice Cissokho cross to the far post wide on 56 minutes. Leo might have put this game beyond any doubt 14 minutes later when Veretout found him on the edge of the box and he beat a defender before blasting the ball over the bar.
    Jordan Veretout - 7 – Did some good work at the back in breaking down their attacks when we were under some pressure in the last quarter of the game having dropped back too deep as a team. Played some nice passes.   
    Ashley Westwood – 6 – Played his part in holding things together.   
    Idrissa Gana – 7 – A very, very much improved display on his last Villa Park outing. He did give the ball away on 29 minutes in his own half and will have been very relieved to see Bassong’s header at the end of their move go over the bar. He worked very hard throughout and did very well to block Mbokani’s attempt to force home a rebound at the far post after Lescott had kept his shot out on 89 minutes.    
    Carles Gil – 6 – His first thought is to move the ball forwards and to create chances up front. Another good display and he got through a fair bit of work yesterday and hit the free kick that gave us our opener.
    Gabriel Agbonlahor – 7 – Turned a Bacuna cross wide on 11 minutes and then having been found by Gana ran on to the edge of the box before hitting his shot straight at the keeper on 51 minutes. He then gave us a vital two-goal cushion seconds later. Veretout hit a lovely ball between 2 defenders which he ran onto before hitting the ball past Rudd who had advanced to the edge of the box and into the corner of the net. His goal celebration was muted at best which suggests the criticism he has received has stung but it also seems to have had a positive impact on his performance doesn’t it?   
    Gabby filled the lone striker role which he has often struggled with in the past surprisingly well yesterday. He showed signs of the player he had been for us in the distant past and that he still has the capacity to do a job for us when he is up for it. He could yet have an unexpected but welcome impact on our survival hopes in our remaining games. His task is now to maintain this work rate, to show a willingness to run and to look for the ball in our next game, then in the one after that and consistently for the rest of this season as and when called upon.
    Substitutes:
    Ciaran Clark – Replaced Richards on 91 minutes so was not on long enough to earn a rating.  
    Stay Up Villa!
     
    John Lewis
     
  24. John
    Its only half time, despite Bon Jovi’s confidence, but if we can hold on to what we’ve got at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night, then we’ll make it to Wembley on 27th May.
    We take a one goal lead with us on Tuesday night and that didn’t really look very likely at half time, did it? Albion arrived yesterday, with avoiding defeat as their primary objective. Is Pulis providing Jimmy Shan with tactical advice as well as Michael Appleton?
    The first half looked like a carbon copy of the game they had won at Villa Park in February. They were solid at the back, worked hard, flooded the midfield and gave us very little space. Jack and John’s threat from the middle had been nullified by them during the first half. We had plenty of possession, but we had created very little of note with it and we gifted them the lead on 16 minutes to boot.
    What a time this would have been for the winning form that had gotten us into these playoffs to have deserted us. This Villa team are not beaten that easily though. The game was turned on its head by two goals in 4 minutes from us as we went into the last 15 minutes of normal time. Dwight Gayle’s 88th minute red card, when the referee had finally lost patience with him will result in their hot-headed, top scorer missing the second leg. That may yet prove as important to the outcome of this tie, as was the introduction from the bench of Conor Hourihane yesterday.            
    We have seen a couple of Lazarus like semi-final comebacks over the past couple of days. Our own comeback deflated our visitor’s yesterday. The tie is not won yet, but we will not be as ineffective as we were in the first half again. Albion must also make it a more open game in search of a goal that would level the score. That will give us the space we were denied yesterday and the chance to put the game beyond them.    
    The claret & blue relief was as clear at the final whistle, as was the disappointment that was etched on the faces of the whinging Albion players, staff and supporters. We must now finish the job on Tuesday evening. We are two wins away from promotion. It is high time that we left Wembley rejoicing a win, rather than having experienced a painful defeat. Do it for us Villa!               
    My player ratings from a game that has left us, tantalisingly within touching distance of a second successive Wembley play off final appearance are:
    Jed Steer – 7 – Both he and Taylor went for the same ball on 11 minutes that neither got to. He made up for that communication breakdown seconds later, when he got his fingertips to help a Rodriguez shot from the edge of the box onto the crossbar, that would otherwise have produced a goal.      
    Ahmed Elmohamady – 6 – He has rightly become an undisputed first choice, hasn’t he?         
    Axel Tuanzebe - 7 – Another good display alongside Tyrone.      
    Tyrone Mings – 7 – Solid at the back, although facing free-scoring opponents. Hit a 45th minute shot from the edge of the box that forced a save from Johnstone.               
    Neil Taylor – 6 – Did well enough.                
    Albert Adomah – 5 – Failed to make a real impression on this game, which was disappointing.              
    Glenn Whelan – 5 – He has been immense in our midfield of late, but Glenn didn’t produce quite the same level of performance that he has been giving in recent weeks yesterday. Made a costly error that gave them an early lead, when he failed to control a pass back to him from Jack on 16 minutes, that Gayle proceeded to run onto before hitting a shot past Steer.    
    John McGinn – 6 – Kept unusually quiet, but even the very best players don’t do it every week, like John they do it 99% of the time. I wouldn’t want to bet against him taking Tuesday’s game by the scruff of the neck and not letting it go.           
    Jack Grealish – 7 – Didn’t make his usual impact upon the game during the first half but he still had a hand in both of our goals. Won a challenge on the edge of the box before hitting a 59th minute shot that Johnstone saved easily enough to his right. Ran into the right-hand side of the box before pulling the ball back to Hourihane on the edge of the box to claim an assist for our equaliser. Was moving towards the near post when Gibbs slid in to bring him down near the 6-yard box for our penalty     
    Anwar El Ghazi - 6 – Hit a shot from the left-hand side of the box that took a deflection off Holgate before being held by Johnstone at the foot of the near post.                     
    Tammy Abraham – 7 – Left isolated and starved of service in the first half on his return to the team. Hit a first-time effort over the bar on 15 minutes from an Elmo cross. Made an increasingly significant impression on the game during the second half. Elmo played a ball down the line for him which he ran on with before cutting into the box, outpacing a defender and hitting a cross that Johnstone blocked low at the near post on 52 minutes. Nodded a 55th minute Taylor cross over and past the far post.
    Tammy was the coolest man in the ground when he put away his 79th minute penalty, sending Johnstone the wrong way and the ball into the right-hand corner of the net for our winner. Holgate was looking for any excuse to go down when Tammy jumped for a header inside the box and he went down dramatically to try to steal a late penalty for his shell-shocked side.                  
    Substitutes:
    Conor Hourihane – 8 – MOTM – Replaced Whelan on 67 minutes. His introduction led to Jack moving further forward and he made the difference yesterday. Conor was in space on the edge of the box when Grealish played the ball back to him on 75 minutes. His aim was true and his superbly hit left foot shot flashed into the left-hand corner of the net, with Johnstone just a spectator. Had earlier made an important 74th minute interception, stretching to reach a ball intended for the unmarked Murphy from Gayle.     
    Andre Green – 6 - Came on for Adomah on 67 minutes and provided some pace.  
    Jonathan Kodjia – Replaced El Ghazi on 91 minutes. Not on long enough to gain a rating.      
    Up the Villa!
    John Lewis
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