John Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Bring on anyone at home in the draw for the next round of the FA Cup! That is as long as they are not from the top flight of course! We claimed our third win of 2015 year yesterday and all three of these have come in the FA Cup. We have scored five goals in the three games that have seen us progress into the FA Cup quarter-finals compared to the twelve we have managed from 25 league games this season. We now need to get some goals and wins from our remaining 13 league games to secure our top flight status. That along with three more FA Cup wins would make this a season to remember rather than one to try to forget. Scott Marshall won his one game as our caretaker manager so has an enviable 100% win record to his name as he steps aside for the new boss. We started the game with an unfamiliar energy which can be attributed to a desire for players to impress the new boss who was watching from the stand. But after the first 20 minutes or so it was Leicester who had the better of what remained of the first half as we increasingly reverted to passing sideways or backwards having ran out of ideas and confidence. Tim Sherwood left his place in the stand before the half time whistle. He did so not to beat the rush for a half time pie but to get to the home dressing room. His positive intervention did the trick as we emerged from the tunnel for the second half a reinvigorated team. We had purpose, urgency and were willing to get players forward during that second half which brought the reward of a place in the last eight of this cup competition that we could yet win for an eighth time this year. My player ratings from a game that has left Tim Sherwood 90 minutes from leading us out at Wembley within 2 months of being appointed manager are: Shay Given – 8 – His two goal saving saves yesterday might put some unexpected pressure on Brad’s starting place for future league games. Shay was fortunate that Mahrez could only deflect the ball out of play when he intercepted a risky attempted pass to Cissokho on 23 minutes that would have been better cleared downfield. But on 32 minutes he made a world class save to stop us going a goal down. James hit a splendid shot from the edge of the box which had goal written all over it until Shay somehow got a hand to it and turned the ball around the post. He palmed a 73rd minute Mahrez cross and bravely got down to push the resulting loose ball away from Kramaric as he was about to hit it home. Alan Hutton – 6 – Kept trying to get us moving forward but played a loose ball which found Schlupp who went on to cross for their late goal when Row Z was the better as well as the safer option. This led to some late concerns that we might be unexpectedly pegged back to face a replay having looked like comfortable winners up till then. Ron Vlaar – 8 – MOTM - Ron was back in the first team, was as solid as concrete, led by example and claimed an assist for our opening goal yesterday. Made a great saving tackle on 73 minutes when Mahrez was about to pull the trigger inside of the box. Might he have an eye on lifting the trophy for us at the end of the season? Ciaran Clark – 7 – Solid again and his crunching yet fair 73rd minute tackle on Schlupp near the centre circle was something to behold. Aly Cissokho – 6 – Aly is reliable enough at the back but can be so reluctant to get forward. Leandro Baccuna - 7 – Started brightly and hit our vital opening goal on 68 minutes. Vlaar did so well to pick up the ball and play it between 2 defenders through to Leo near the edge of the box who then hit a superb curling shot inside the far post and into the net. Ashley Westwood – 6 – Worked hard and hit some decent balls but a few that were less so. Tom Cleverley – 6 – A surprise selection but he gave a better performance than of late particularly in the second half and might be one of the players looking forward to the opportunity for a fresh start. Fabian Delph – 6 – A quiet start but his contribution and performance level got better as the game wore on. Fab’s connection on a nice 48th minute cross from Baccuna was with his shoulder rather than with his head so the ball bounced onto the top of the net rather than flew into it but he is no Andy Gray in the air. Andreas Weimann – 6 – Got under the ball which as a result sailed well over the bar after Hutton had pulled the ball back to him on the edge of the box in the 6th minute. Had the ball in the back of the net on 71 minutes after Benteke had unselfishly played the ball to him inside of the box rather than continue his own run on the edge of the box but Andi had strayed offside before he finished the move. Christian Benteke – 7 – Showed signs of getting his mojo back yesterday and played with the odd smile rather than grimace. Won the ball in the air more often than of late and went looking for the ball rather than stood around waiting for it to come to him. An example of this was when he ran in behind defenders on 51 minutes after Hutton had headed the ball into the box and looked to turn the ball into the net only to be denied by the leg of Schwarzer who was within a few feet of him. He found the net on 45 minutes with a shot he curled inside of the far post from just inside of the box after a good first touch but was correctly flagged offside having failed to stay level with defenders as they had moved forward. Got in between two defenders on 65 minutes to head a Hutton cross wide of the post and ran onto a long ball out from Cissokho 8 minutes later that he hit well over having been put under pressure from Upson. Got some much needed support in the second half. Substitutes: Scott Sinclair – 7 - Replaced Baccuna on 77 minutes and hit what proved to be the all important second goal (one is rarely enough for us) on the 89th minute. Benteke chipped a nice ball through to Scott who ran between 2 defenders got the ball under control and hit a shot that Schwarzer saved with one hand at his left post but unluckily helped in with his other. Jack Grealish – Replaced Weimann on 83 minutes and was not on long enough to earn a rating. Up for the Cup Villa! John Lewis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poise Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Totally agree. In front of Sherwood aswell I definitely won't be surprised to see Given starting against Stoke next Saturday. Also expect Vlaar to be back in the starting eleven and I think Bacuna may have done enough to merit a start in the league. Not only did he score a great goal but he made some wicked deliveries too. Very pleasing peformance eventually. Not been able to say that much in the last 12 months 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'd love Villa to win this cup after all these decades, but... having the semi finals at Wembley really pisses me off. Devalues the final, costs the fans a **** fortune, and it's still a shit place to go. Let's get the semis back at our place/Mold Trafford/Emirates/Hillborough etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Posted February 18, 2015 Author Share Posted February 18, 2015 I'd love Villa to win this cup after all these decades, but... having the semi finals at Wembley really pisses me off. Devalues the final, costs the fans a **** fortune, and it's still a shit place to go. Let's get the semis back at our place/Mold Trafford/Emirates/Hillborough etc I agree 100% that having the semi-finals at Wembley devalues the final. It is all about recovering the millions the FA spent on building it and it is the fans that pay as usual in money terms, in being able to get to and from the game and in the seats they cannot get hold of because so many are set aside for sponsors, corporate clients or Wembley club members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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