John Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 We showed some much needed fight and spirit yesterday against a team who were no better than we were and were perhaps fortunate to leave Villa Park with a point. But when we concede the first goal this season it is very unlikely that we will win the game because try as we might we do not really pose a significant goal threat to our opponents. West Ham had their best moments at the end of each half. They went ahead in first half stoppage time and seemed the team most likely to score when it was us that really needed to have been pressing for a winner near the end but we had the best of the game overall. There are signs of improvement now and our players do seem to be settling into a system as well as into this league. We came back from being a goal down as we did at Newcastle and have now for the first time this season gone 2 games without defeat. These are positives we can take from a season where positives have been very few and far between for us. So we have now gone 10 home league games without a win. We have not won in the league at Villa Park this season and have only won one of the 18 games we have played since the first day of the season. That form sadly has relegation written all over it. On the two previous occasions that we were bottom of the table at Christmas we were relegated and the odds are against us making it third time lucky. The two teams that were bottom of the table at Christmas 2013 and 2014 survived but to have any chance of doing the same we really need to be winning games like this one and we did not. A draw from a game like this would have been OK if we had say another 10 points to our name but we are playing catch-up and we will not catch up in time by drawing games. We are 9 points adrift of Norwich who currently sit just above the drop zone. We play them next and follow that up with Sunderland who are only 4 points clear of us. We need to win both of those games now to bring those clubs within our reach. They are 6-pointers and must win games. Make it so Villa! My player ratings from a game that has left us hanging onto our top flight status by our finger tips are: Brad Guzan – 6 – Got a hand to a 25th minute near post shot from Zárate which he turned wide and gathered a shot from Obiang on 79 minutes a little uncomfortably. Brad again left a lot of space at one side of his goal for a late stoppage time free kick but managed to scramble across his goal to turn Valencia’s shot out for a corner. Alan Hutton – 5 – Alan worked very hard as he always can be relied to do but his crosses were generally poor and he left wide players in too much space on a couple of occasions. On one such occasion Valencia had oceans of space in the build up to the move that led to Kouyaté striking the woodwork. Former Villa target Cresswell then found himself with no-one anywhere near him before he cut inside and picked his spot on the edge of the box. Alan later had a far post header cleared near the line by Collins on 74 minutes. Jores Okore – 6 – Jores gave another solid enough display at the back. Joleon Lescott – 6 – The captaincy appears to have had a positive impact upon Joleon who looks more assured now and organises those around him pretty well. Leandro Bacuna – 5 – Adrián blocked his 28th minute shot from the edge of the box which bounced to Gestede who was unable to get enough on his header from the rebound to trouble the keeper. Jordan Veretout – 7 – Had a 53rd minute shot pushed past the far post by Adrián after Hutton had found him on the edge of the box and he had ran into it between 2 defenders. His recent improvement in performance is being sustained. Carlos Sánchez - 6 – We lost some shape when he went off through injury on 38 minutes. Idrissa Gana – 7 – An encouraging display. Put himself about yesterday and stood up to be counted. Ashley Westwood – 5 – Hit a shot over the bar from 30 yards after Bacuna had found him in space and did the same with a volley on 71 minutes after the ball fell into his path from a corner. Might have conceded a second half penalty when the ball struck his arm but that would have been harsh on him and on us. Jordan Ayew – 7 – MOTM - Jordan was as cool as a cucumber when he stepped up to slot home his 62nd minute penalty sending Adrián the wrong way. He really looks up for the fight and looks a quality forward now. Rudy Gestede – 6 – Won balls in the air and was brought down for our penalty by Kouyaté as he raced onto a ball having got in front of his man. He seems to now be settling into playing in this league but he needs to find the goal touch he produced for Blackburn in the league below if we are to avoid joining them next season. Headed a Veretout cross wide of the post on 18 minutes and headed a Hutton cross over the bar on 50 minutes that he really should have headed downward. Turned well inside the box on 59 minutes following a Veretout free kick but his shot was parried away by Adrián. Substitutes: Carles Gil - 6 - Replaced Sánchez on 38 minutes. Took a while to find his feet but he played his part in getting us moving forward in the second half. Hit a 44th minute shot wide of the near post from the edge of the box. Adama Traoré – Replaced Veretout on 83 minutes but was not on the field long enough to merit a rating. A Happier New Year to all readers - Stay up Villa! John Lewis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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