Davies4England Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Friedel 7- Nout to do. Young 8- Caught out a few times but overall very solid and made a crucial tackle on Tuncay. Warnock 6- Worst game for us so far, still got froward very well though. Dunne 9- Fantastic, didn't put a foot wrong, I love this guy. Cuellar 9- Getting better by the game, and bettered Dunne today, won every ball and probably the best I've seen him play. Young 8- Quiet generally but his cross was undefendable and that made the difference. Worked as hard as ever too. Milner 8- Focal point of everything. Downing 7- Worked hard but quality was short at times. Petrov 7- Worked superbly 1st half, looked fatigued late on though. Heskey 7- Linked up very well until he went off. Gabby 6- Quiet game, worked hard though. Carew 7- Got the goal but I think his link up play was poor most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan. Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Warnock, Ash and Downing all had poor games, and we still win, great result against a team that make playing any sort of football very difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yakubu Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 not the best of games, i think we were a bit lucky that their goal was disallowed but our goal was very nice and our defence was as excellent as it has been for most of this season such a tough one to pick a man of the match. it's between dunne and cuellar for me but i've gone for carlos, he looks better and better all the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stato Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Really pleased with that. We looked good in patches in the first half hour and obviously got the break through in the second half. I thought Stoke played quite well, but for all the shots they had they didn't once hit the target. That was of course apart from the disallowed goal, which at the time looked harsh to me, but the whistle clearly went before he headed it into the net. Carew could have blinded someone kicking the flag into the crowd!!! Defensively we were great again. 4 wins and clean sheets in a row! Warnock, Ash and Downing all had poor games, and we still win, great result against a team that make playing any sort of football very difficult. Whilst Ash and Downing weren't on top form, they created the only goal of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutByEaster? Posted December 19, 2009 Moderator Share Posted December 19, 2009 That was a really important three points. A great win and a decent performance. There are those that will tell you that "good" football is all about intricate passing patterns, quick touches and geometry; they aren't always right. This game was an object lesson in hard work, tempo, closing down and working as a team; and from both sides it should be said. Stoke came and proved that if you're a team that press the opposition all over the field, work your guts out and never give up... we can still beat you. All credit to this Villa side for proving that as well as beating the rich and famous, we can also match this leagues real grafters. I thought Luke Young and Cuellar were fantastic at the back, Milner was in his element and Ashley Young deserves huge credit for the way he covered massive chunks of the pitch and didn't let anyone's heads go down when Stoke had a good period of play early in the second half. As a unit I thought we dug deep in our third game of the week and showed real character to go with our fitness. Attractive football isn't something any team can always rely on, but with the spirit we showed today, I think we'll be more than ready for those days when it doesn't readily appear. I'm a very happy Villa fan just now, long may it continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanky Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Good summary OBE, my thoughts exactly. It's all about grinding out results liek that. Last season Stoke, Fulham and Portsmouth at home we drew, we have now gained 6 points in these fixtures which is pleasing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan. Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 They probably think it ended 1-1 the silly ****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srsmithusa Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 In the end, I suspect MON and the players will draw a line through it, accept the 3 points gleefully and put the somewhat jaded performance down to having to play 3 matches in 7 days. This, except it's MON, the players, and me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stockport_Villain Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Very pleased with that result. The performance was patchy with e bright opening. As many have mentioned before we would have succumbed last year and ended up drawing this game. Excellent times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan. Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Sidwell needs to go, shocking miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markavfc40 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Didn't think we got out of 2nd gear and looked a bit laboured going forward possibly due to the two previous tough away games. Every man once again gave his all and although Stoke had a fair few shots we always got a block in and I don't remember Brad having a save to make. Not sure what Stokes goal was ruled out for but I presume it was a push on Warnock. The goal stemmed from a lovely long pass from Downing to Young, great cross and a nice header from Carew. We didn't play anywhere near our best but battled superbly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanky Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 They probably think it ended 1-1 the silly ****. So funny to see the two blokes in the lower Witton who were still hugging eachother as Friedel took the free kick and the embarrassed reaction when they realised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 edit: Double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Sidwell needs to go, shocking miss. Sidwell missed a chance from 20 yards. Gabby missed a chance from 6 yards, so basically Gabby should just be released on a free. Just simply for that miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomaszk Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 We fell into the trap of playing their style of football. The midfield got a bit intimidated I think and it led to them having a touch less than they normally would in the middle. Poor overall aside from the never-say-die defending which is brilliant to watch, and worth just as much as a goal. Friedel - 7 Young - 8 Cuellar - 9 Cookie Monster - 8 Warnock - 5 - worst game for us IMO. One great block but struggled a lot in possession, kept giving it away and going backwards when we needed to be pushing on. Downing - 7 - good first half, quiet second before and after that great switch to Young for the goal Milner - 7 Petrov - 6 - Wasn't demanding the ball anywhere near as much as he needs to be if he is to be our anchor in behind the other 3 swapping all over the place. Young - 7 Agbag - 8 Heskey - 6 Carew - 6.5 Sidders - 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanvilla_1994 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Cuellar and Luke Young were excellent. Warnock had a poor game by his standards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddy Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 They probably think it ended 1-1 the silly ****. So funny to see the two blokes in the lower Witton who were still hugging eachother as Friedel took the free kick and the embarrassed reaction when they realised. That was a classic. Not a great game but we'd have lost that in previous years, or at best drawn. The best teams grind out results when not playing well and that's exactly what we did today. 8 points clear of Liverpool at Christmas? We'll take that I guess. Grudgingly. Difficult to pick a MOTM, no-one stood out really. I went for Luke Young just, for that tackle as much as anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Didn't play that well, but we played some nice stuff at times. Stoke clearly came with a game plan to play long ball and kick our players whenever they moved. Thought Downing and Warnock were far from their best, but Dunne, Cuellar, Luke and Ashley all impressed me alot. Probably go for Dunne as MotM, close between him and Carlos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir_gary_cahill Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 long ball? did you watch the game? they played really good football especially in the opening stages Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 long ball? did you watch the game? they played really good football especially in the opening stages Yes, I watched the game. I saw them have about 2 decent passing moves, the rest was just long ball stuff to Sidibe or whatever his name is. Thought they were dreadful. Did you watch the game!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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