LFL: ASTON VILLA

This was a real humdinger and, despite our mistakes, there’s no disgrace in losing narrowly away to a top four side especially in a seven-goal thriller like his one.

BEFORE

I’d been feeling decidedly conflicted on the issue of whether it’d be good for us to get into Europe in case we’d be biting off more than we can chew with all those extra matches. Then I looked at our opponents today and thought that it hasn't done them any harm as they're one step away from a Euro final and are still in the top four and likely to qualify for the Champions League. So, let’s go for it and try to win everything. As for today’s team-news, Ballard will be back in the squad but I imagine he'll be brought on in the later stages. Villa played in Bologna on Thursday night so I hope they're a bit fatigued but they’ll clearly be a handful. I'll be watching the game in the company of other members of the London Branch and my match prediction is 1-1.

I got the team-news on my way over to the bar and there were no changes in the starting line-up from the Spurs game but Ballard was on the bench in place of Jenson Jones. I got to the bar around 1.15 and a few of the Faithful were already there but as kick-off approached that number had grown to about twenty and the atmosphere was great. We were playing in our blue away kit.

THE MATCH

Villa looked sharp from the off and they took the lead in the second minute with Watkins heading in from very close range after a neat lob by McGinnn found him unmarked. They made it look very easy. We fought back and a couple of minutes later Le Fee had a low shot on target that was easily covered by Martinez in goal. In the eighth we won the first corner of the game but it ended in a free-kick to Villa. We didn’t have to wait long for the equaliser, though, when an attack down our right culminated in a short pass from Sadiki back to Rigg who lammed it into the bottom-left corner. The bar went doolally. Villa were looking dangerous down our left and they won their first corner in the fourteenth. It produced a header from Onana that hit the bar and then Brobbey was there to clear a follow-up off the line. Alderete conceded a free-kick in a dodgy spot to the left of our box but they chose to take it short and the chance was cleared, eventually. It had been a very lively first quarter of the game.

Play was going from end to end and we were displaying dogged determination. We won another corner in the twenty-ninth and after Xhaka took it short it ended in a header going wide but it looked like the cross had already gone out for a goal-kick. Villa took the lead again in the thirty-sixth when a fairly low cross from Maatsen on the right was headed home from close range by Watkins. Again we battled back and promptly won another corner, which came to nothing but I felt that the goals were far from over. A Sadiki shot was deflected for another corner but there was an infringement and that was that. With a minute to the break O’Nien conceded a corner and after Villa had taken it short we got the ball clear. There were two minutes of added-time but not much happened and it remained 1-2 as the half-time whistle went. Some teams would have buckled after going behind so early in the game but we showed great spirit in fighting back for the equaliser. The service to Watkins and his clinical finishing had proved deadly while we should have done better to snuff out their approach play around our box. Still, anything could happen in the second-half and probably would.

As usual there were no changes as we kicked off again but almost at once Villa scored. We were outmuscled in midfield and a move found Rogers who powered a low shot into our bottom-left corner, giving Roefs no chance. 3-1 was clearly going to take some coming back from but I still felt we could get at least another goal. I could also see Villa getting one too. Around the fifty-fifth Villa started to put a lot of pressure on and I wondered if Ballard would soon be making an appearance. The lad next to meet said he’d like to see Isidor on as Brobbey was getting no change out of the Villa back four. In the sixty-third Ballard came on for Alderete, who’d maybe been injured, while at the same time we replaced Reinildo and Rigg with Hume and Talbi. Sadiki was booked for a shove, the first yellow card of the match, and then we were into the last quarter of the game. 

In the sixty-eighth Brobbey had a decent low shot on target but Martinez managed to cover it. With twenty minutes to go Villa made a couple of substitutions, bringing on Buendia and Digne for Barkley and Maatsen. We soon conceded a corner but referee Samuel Barrott blew for a foul and the danger was over. We were doing a fair bit of pressing and a fierce shot from Le Fee was palmed away by Martinez. The game was then held up for a while by an injury to Konsa and in the eightieth Villa made two more changes with Watkins and McGinn going off to be replaced by Abraham and Sancho. I was glad to see the back of both of them. Time was ticking away all too quickly and it was beginning to look like the game was beyond us unless we could manage another of our grandstand finishes. 

Isidor did indeed come on for Brobbey in the eighty-fourth and next thing we’d pulled a goal back. Hume battled for the ball at the left edge of their box and running onwards he smashed it straight into the top right corner. As if that wasn’t good enough, next thing we were level. Le Fee created the chance from just inside our half when he saw Isidor starting to move forwards. He fed him a low ball and Wilson ran on to traverse most of their half before slotting it past Martinez in the way we love to see him do. The bar went crazy and there was no VAR to fret over.

Seven minutes of added-time were announced and our blood was up as we wanted a winner. I thought that winner was coming when Diarra was put through one on one with Martinez but the latter managed to get a hand on his lobbed shot and save the day for them. Diarra went for a fancy shot when a low one would probably have done the job. We quickly rued that miss as Villa were soon up our end and Abraham tapped in a low cross from our right to make it 4-3. That still wasn’t it for the action as Villa got a free-kick in a great spot but Buendia hit it well over. It finally ended 3-4.