Ratings and Reactions: Reading 1-2 Villa

[Spoony]

Man I can't keep going through this every week.

 

Good performance. But please God, let Bannan leave. He is just not a footballer

[Cambridge-AVFC]

Man I can't keep going through this every week.

 

Good performance. But please God, let Bannan leave. He is just not a footballer

Why?

[Spoony]

He just can't pass, cross or shoot and he doesn't make the right runs. I'm not entirely sure what he offers to the team.

[Rugeley Villa]

Huge win, without benteke this season we would be in major trouble, could not make today and I'm gutted, how was our away support today lads??

[Jimzk5]

He just can't pass, cross or shoot and he doesn't make the right runs. I'm not entirely sure what he offers to the team.

I thought he had an ok game. Certainly contribute more today than some of his other games

[hants-villa72]

Huge win, without benteke this season we would be in major trouble, could not make today and I'm gutted, how was our away support today lads??

seemed rather quiet from the Reading end, nervous game though!

[Villastine]

We were by far the superior side. Made them look like a Championship team. 

However we are still very poor defensively. Lack of protection from our midfield leaves us so exposed at the back we invited them to have a go. Add to that the OG we are our worse enemy at times.

Bannon epitomised this at times. He played well and exploited the space on several occasions but was also guilty of ceded possession in dangerous areas with some unforced errors. Same could be said of Westwood at times.

Benteke was again brilliant. Weimann and Gabby were also very good and Gabby’s goal on the end of a huge amount of passes was a great strike.

Lowton had a poor game. Vlaar caused panic too at times losing his man. Baker recovered from an awful error and was strong. Clark had a decent game.
 

Guzan was very good.

Nzogbia was the right sub at the right time. Fair play to Lambert.

Overall delighted with the win, especially coming from behind.

Hopefully we can kick on from this. Could do with Bent back as another option.

[Robbie09]

Just got back from the game and cannot believe some of the comments on here. We played well and dominated the game. Maybe we could have been better up front and are still nervy at the back but we were the better side by far.

 

Likewise. From my vantage point in row EE i thought we were good value for the win. My only criticism would be that we didn't capitalize on some of the decent openings we had to make it less nervy.

 

Very impressed with Sylla and thought Bannan also decent. Weimann didn't stop running although just like the Wet Spam game his early miss seemed to knock his confidence and when he was through on goal early in the second half rather than pulling the trigger he hesitated and allowed the centre half to block his effort.

 

Given that it was his first start Sylla gets MOTM for me.

[Rugeley Villa]

Huge win, without benteke this season we would be in major trouble, could not make today and I'm gutted, how was our away support today lads??

seemed rather quiet from the Reading end, nervous game though!

very surprised at that

[chappy]

 

Huge win, without benteke this season we would be in major trouble, could not make today and I'm gutted, how was our away support today lads??

seemed rather quiet from the Reading end, nervous game though!

very surprised at that

 

Didn't sound quiet on the stream I was watching

[skarroki]

GET IN!! bring on QPR

[Milfner]

Thought Sylla and Westwood were **** brilliant today, probably the best Westwood has played for us I reckon. Bannan was good also. Baker bounced back well after the own goal and so did Clark after the horror mistake against City. Guzan superb yet again, one of the top 5 keepers in the Prem for me. 

Benteke really is a **** monster, isn't he? Wins everything.

 

GET IN.

[CI]

Just back from The Madjeski. The lads did us proud in a game I thought they would bottle. Special credit to Guzan, Vlaar and Benteke .

We started off a bit lacklustre, seemed a bit sleepy and I thought when Baker OG'd we were in trouble but luckily we got straight back in it and the rest of the first half we were stroking it about and playing well. Centre mid we actually bossed for once and Sylla Westwood & Bannan gelled really well.

Credit to the linesman who got the Reading offside goal spot on, lots of officially would have screwed that one up. It's about time we got a refereeing break !

Nice to see Lambert come over to us at the end. He didn't want any credit and kept pointing at the players.

Feels so good to get the win!!

[The_Steve]

Another biased Guardian match report
 
 

Paul Lambert has parroted it like a mantra throughout the season. "We'll be fine," the Aston Villa manager has said. Here is a Glaswegian of intensity and the impression has been that if he says it sufficiently, he can force it to happen; that the strength of his personality can willan inexperienced squad into prolonging the club's 25-year membership of
the elite.

 

This victory, only a second in 12 Premier League matches, brought substance to the belief. It was a long way from being handsome and there was the sense that Villa were clinging on in the second half but it did nothing to dilute the tonic. Lambert's men survived their latest self-inflicted wound, a darkly comic own goal from Nathan Baker, and a few borderline decisions to pull clear of the relegation places.

 

Reading were left to nurse bitter regret, and not only for their dreadful defending in the first half. They had the chances, as Brian McDermott noted, to have taken "the decision-maker out of the game", in other words, the officials, who ignored two penalty appeals and ruled out for offside what would have been a second-half equaliser from Noel Hunt. Reading left their shooting boots in the dressing room.

 

Commendably, McDermott did not dwell on the decisions, despite being convinced that Hunt had been barged over in the early running by Brad Guzan and wondering whether the substitute Nick Blackman might had got something from an injury-time tangle inside the area with Yacouba Sylla, Villa's full Premier League debutant. But McDermott could not hide the pain of the defeat that pressed his team to joint-bottom of the table with Queens Park Rangers. Next up for them, after four straight league defeats, are trips to Manchester United and Arsenal.

 

"There were inches in the offside decision … I don't know if it was offside or not but the referee has got good eyes to see that," McDermott said. "The result is disappointing, to say the least. It certainly hurts. We didn't kick on at 1-0 and that's cost us." Lambert felt that Villa's spirit was epitomised by Baker who, according to him, recovered in "exceptional" fashion from his aberration. Villa's defensive wobbles have been well documented but this was a new low.

 

After Jobi McAnuff had beaten Matthew Lowton to a cross from the left and Hope Akpan had flicked goalwards, Baker, on the far post, swung his right foot to clear only to miss, see the ball hit his standing foot and roll, almost apologetically, into the net. Yet Reading found a way to trail at the interval and depart to a chorus of boos from theirsupporters. They lost their focus completely after Baker's gift and when Andreas Weimann stole on to Ashley Westwood's pass to cut back from the right, three Reading defenders had toddled like lemmings towards the goalline. Christian Benteke, who had dropped off, shot home with the aid of a deflection off Stephen Kelly.

 

Worse was to come for Reading, and it was not just the timing of Villa's second that hurt. Kelly's attempted clearance from Weimann's cross was sliced high and
when Lowton won a key header, Barry Bannan's instinctive shot came back off the post. Reading froze but Gabby Agbonlahor did not. Lambert described the finish, lashed into the top corner, as "absolutely world-class."

 

Reading had flickered at the outset, with Adam Le Fondre's header forcing Guzan into a reflex save and the hosts were incensed when the Villa goalkeeper bundled into Hunt inside the area. But Villa, set up with a tight midfield three, had fashioned a foothold before the burst of goals. Benteke headed against the crossbar and Weimann dragged a good chance wide on the counter. Agbonlahor's goal felt as though it deserved to be decisive – Villa's build-up had featured 20-plus passes before the Kelly slice – but Lambert's men lived
on their nerves in the second half. The biggest call was that for offside. McAnuff's cross bypassed Le Fondre in the middle and Hunt converted at the back post only to scream injustice when the assistant referee flagged. Le Fondre, who was central to the action, and Hunt might have been fractionally in front of the last man. Everyone was agreed that it was fiendishly tight.

 

The Reading crowd is edgy, and they jeered again when McDermott substituted Akpan and Hunt before the hour but not the disappointing Mikele Leigertwood. There were cheers
when the midfielder was eventually withdrawn. But Reading carried the fight. Hal Robson-Kanu wasted a glorious chance, as he would towards the very end, and Blackman headed at Guzan.

 

Agbonhalor and the substitute Charles N'Zogbia had the chances to make the closing stagesmore comfortable for Villa but they do not trade in comfort. The wildscenes among the travelling fans upon the final whistle spoke of joy and relief.

[wedge]

I thought we played well, not as well as we can, but all that matters was that we got the points, my mate got chucked out the home end for celebrating, anyone else in the home end have any bother?

[briny_ear]

Excellent - what a relief! I had wanted to go to this but couldn't make it in the end. Sorry to have missed the first game of the season where we came from behind to win. I think Reading are the first team we've taken 6 points off as well, aren't they? 

 

Onwards to the QPR game!

[CI]

Surprised to see quite a few empty seats in the home end , thought it was a lock out

[Brumstopdogs]

Just got back - very pleased with the 3 points!

 

Good games from Guzan, Vlaar, Sylla (MOTM) and Benteke with N'Zog impressing when he came on.

 

A deserved win against a poor Reading side. Up the Villa and let's now beat QPR!

[Nigel]

Another biased Guardian match report

 

 

 

Paul Lambert has parroted it like a mantra throughout the season. "We'll be fine," the Aston Villa manager has said. Here is a Glaswegian of intensity and the impression has been that if he says it sufficiently, he can force it to happen; that the strength of his personality can willan inexperienced squad into prolonging the club's 25-year membership of

the elite.

 

This victory, only a second in 12 Premier League matches, brought substance to the belief. It was a long way from being handsome and there was the sense that Villa were clinging on in the second half but it did nothing to dilute the tonic. Lambert's men survived their latest self-inflicted wound, a darkly comic own goal from Nathan Baker, and a few borderline decisions to pull clear of the relegation places.

 

Reading were left to nurse bitter regret, and not only for their dreadful defending in the first half. They had the chances, as Brian McDermott noted, to have taken "the decision-maker out of the game", in other words, the officials, who ignored two penalty appeals and ruled out for offside what would have been a second-half equaliser from Noel Hunt. Reading left their shooting boots in the dressing room.

 

Commendably, McDermott did not dwell on the decisions, despite being convinced that Hunt had been barged over in the early running by Brad Guzan and wondering whether the substitute Nick Blackman might had got something from an injury-time tangle inside the area with Yacouba Sylla, Villa's full Premier League debutant. But McDermott could not hide the pain of the defeat that pressed his team to joint-bottom of the table with Queens Park Rangers. Next up for them, after four straight league defeats, are trips to Manchester United and Arsenal.

 

"There were inches in the offside decision … I don't know if it was offside or not but the referee has got good eyes to see that," McDermott said. "The result is disappointing, to say the least. It certainly hurts. We didn't kick on at 1-0 and that's cost us." Lambert felt that Villa's spirit was epitomised by Baker who, according to him, recovered in "exceptional" fashion from his aberration. Villa's defensive wobbles have been well documented but this was a new low.

 

After Jobi McAnuff had beaten Matthew Lowton to a cross from the left and Hope Akpan had flicked goalwards, Baker, on the far post, swung his right foot to clear only to miss, see the ball hit his standing foot and roll, almost apologetically, into the net. Yet Reading found a way to trail at the interval and depart to a chorus of boos from theirsupporters. They lost their focus completely after Baker's gift and when Andreas Weimann stole on to Ashley Westwood's pass to cut back from the right, three Reading defenders had toddled like lemmings towards the goalline. Christian Benteke, who had dropped off, shot home with the aid of a deflection off Stephen Kelly.

 

Worse was to come for Reading, and it was not just the timing of Villa's second that hurt. Kelly's attempted clearance from Weimann's cross was sliced high and

when Lowton won a key header, Barry Bannan's instinctive shot came back off the post. Reading froze but Gabby Agbonlahor did not. Lambert described the finish, lashed into the top corner, as "absolutely world-class."

 

Reading had flickered at the outset, with Adam Le Fondre's header forcing Guzan into a reflex save and the hosts were incensed when the Villa goalkeeper bundled into Hunt inside the area. But Villa, set up with a tight midfield three, had fashioned a foothold before the burst of goals. Benteke headed against the crossbar and Weimann dragged a good chance wide on the counter. Agbonlahor's goal felt as though it deserved to be decisive – Villa's build-up had featured 20-plus passes before the Kelly slice – but Lambert's men lived

on their nerves in the second half. The biggest call was that for offside. McAnuff's cross bypassed Le Fondre in the middle and Hunt converted at the back post only to scream injustice when the assistant referee flagged. Le Fondre, who was central to the action, and Hunt might have been fractionally in front of the last man. Everyone was agreed that it was fiendishly tight.

 

The Reading crowd is edgy, and they jeered again when McDermott substituted Akpan and Hunt before the hour but not the disappointing Mikele Leigertwood. There were cheers

when the midfielder was eventually withdrawn. But Reading carried the fight. Hal Robson-Kanu wasted a glorious chance, as he would towards the very end, and Blackman headed at Guzan.

 

Agbonhalor and the substitute Charles N'Zogbia had the chances to make the closing stagesmore comfortable for Villa but they do not trade in comfort. The wildscenes among the travelling fans upon the final whistle spoke of joy and relief.

Guardian?  Sounds more like the Reading Echo!

[hants-villa72]

fair few villa at the back of R32 didn't have any bother but was in row hh so was pretty much out the way.

Was surprised to see so many reading fans leaving with 5 mins left plus stoppage time as they scored a lot of late goals and we concede a shit load of late goals! I was bricking it and they were leaving!! bizarre feeling of being a villa fan these days!!