FULL TIME – Villa Reserves 1 – Arsenal Reserves 1 – THE FONZ
For this vital top of the table clash with Arsenal, Villa go into the game 2 points ahead with 2 games in hand, so in effect we win, we will win the Southern League. Villa have announced a very strong squad with Reo-Coker making a welcome return from Injury, the team is
Marshall, Hogg, Bouma, Clark, O’Halloran, Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Salifou, Hofbauer, Weimann, Delfouneso. Substitutes: Forrester, Bevan, Collins, Roome, Bradley
Kick off at 7PM at Villa Park
FULL TIME – Villa get a point when their first half performance should have got more than that but after taking an early second half lead Arsenal hit back to equalise but not a fatal blow to our hopes of the title.
43 mins – game reaches final few minutes with Villa pressing for the winner
24 mins – Quiet period but Arsenal get the goal their play deserves in the 2nd half
16 mins – since the goal all Arsenal as Marshall makes another good stop
9 mins – two minutes later and another great Marshall save
7 mins – fantastic start to the game as Villa have had a further chance and Marshall has had to make a great save to stop Arsenal.
GOOAAALLLL – First attack and from Albrightons cross Weimann’s effort is tpped onto the post for the FONZ to score the rebound
SECOND HALF KICKS OFF
HALF TIME – A game dominated by Villa closes with no goals but a few half chances with the forwards looking threatening at times and Arsenal’s keeper having to make vital saves
22 mins – half way through half and still Villa dominance, looking good with every attack.
17 min – Villa now well on top
12 mins – Fonz header tipped over
10 mins – quiet start, villa do the little amount of attacking, with the usual suspects of Albrighton and Weimann looking to start well
19:05 – Opening sparring, confirmed O’Halloran at CB and Bouma at LB
19:01 – Game kicks off with Arsenal
Reo-Coker and Bouma RETURN for the reserves against Arsenal
Table toppers Villa go into tonight’s reserve game against Arsenal with a two point lead and two gams in hand, so win this and we are Southern champions once again.
The team has been announced and very good news that NRC is now back and Bouma also plays as well which is good to see after his mystifying absence last week
VILLA: Andy Marshall, Johnathan Hogg, Wilfred Bouma, Ciaran Clark, Stephen O’Halloran, Marc Albrighton, Nigel Reo-Coker, Moustapha Salifou, Dominik Hofbauer, Andreas Weimann, Nathan Delfouneso. Substitutes: Harry Forrester, David Bevan, James Collins, Matthew Roome, Daniel Bradley.
That is a very strong reserve side for once with even Delfouneso getting a game so be good if we can catch a stream for this game.
For those free tonight the game KO’s at 7PM at VP.
Oi ref you are awful and Wenger you talk rubbish
4 games without a goal in the premier league is a cause for concern. However we played very well today, we battled Arsenal all the way and whilst they hit the wood work twice I believe we had the clearest chances and in reality the lack of a top class forward is costing us as instead of 2 points from the last four with a class forward maybe we could have got 7 or more and that is the difference.
However today’s big talking point is the ref’s (Lee Probert) performance. He was awful, not just bad but so many calls he got wrong and one in particular a Clichy tackle on Ash Young which was a clear booking, which he never gave and 5 minutes later he should have been off for a second yellow on Downing. Not only that he seemed to miss a clear handball in the Arsenal penalty box which looked a clear penalty and then a number of decisions he gave all to Arsenal. Though just watching MOTD you will not see many of them but how could he not give that foul on Richard Dunne at the end that is just bottling it !
However his performance can not detract away from the lack of killer touch we have up front, it definitely cost us the win today and whilst I expect no moves in the winter if this is not resolved in the summer we will not get the progress into the ‘sky 4′ that we deserve to get.
So Martin the priority for the summer is clear, I expect no signings this winter but all efforts simply have to be concentrated on getting that one player !
Finally Arsene ‘Whinger’ called us a long ball team today and MON quite rightly is angry about that. No way today did we play long ball, in fact at times we played some great football on the floor, we had 50/50 possession at Villa Park and as usual Arsene is whingeing just because he never won, such a sore loser. Finally maybe Wenger should ask why ‘men’ go down so easily over simple tackles and whinge like bitches ?
Another day, another visit to Villa Park
Yes it is a Wednesday so must mean for the 4th time in 11 days a trip down Villa Park for a game.
This time it is the Premier League and a really tough game for us against Championship chasing Arsenal who after the game in December will be confident of a win. At Villa Park our record against Arsenal is very poor with no win in the last 10 home games. The cup games have disrupted the season a lot and it has to be remembered we have only took one point in the last three league games with no goals scored.
That is simply not good enough at this stage of the season and for tomorrow we simply have to put all thoughts aside of the the cups and concentrate fully on the league. Unfortunately we have quite a few small niggling injures with Carew, NRC, Warnock, Albrighton all missing and Petrov is having a scan on a possible achilles injury. So there may be some interesting choices tomorrow and especially if Petrov is ruled out though after Saturday maybe playing Delph against Arsenal is not the worst possible outcome.
After tonight’s results with Liverpool drawing and Spurs winning, then simply we have to go for it, not give Arsenal any respect and get into them, stand back as we found out at the Emirates and their world class player can tear you apart.
We need goals, we need to win, sitting back against Arsenal is not the way to do it.
Villa roasted by Fabregas
That was clear today, that a world class player comes in, not fully fit and totally changed the game with a fantastic 27 minute cameo. Up until Fabregas’s introduction I felt we were comfortable in the game with looking dangerous on the break but one moment on world class brilliance changed the whole tempo of the match in Arsenal’s favour.
For 60 minutes the defence looked comfortable, midfield controlled and managing to snuff out the majority of the danger from Arsenal and Gabby and Heskey combined well to cause problems. However it is clear to really make the next step up we need to find what I call a game changer attacker and we lack that. Carew will never be that against decent teams and Young when he has an off day like today leaves us with little creativity.
Problem is those players are few and far between and cost the Earth and unlikely to sign for a team outside of the current ‘Sky 4’. With the games coming fast then young being suspended with a few others on the edge will stretch the squad and I would like to think in the winter transfer window this can be resolved.
So we have to start a good run again and Liverpool on Tuesday (snow permitting !!) provides a very good chance to get back on track again. At the halfway point in the season we are 4th, we have played well at times and a defeat should not mean all is wrong but rather point us to where we need to get to
Xmas treat for all Villans
Good results for us today at Craven Cottage and the Sty.
Leaves us with a great chance tomorrow at a ground we have done well at the Emirates and we have one over the ‘sky 4′ this season.
So for all those going down, make a hell of a noise, for the team do not be overawed by the opponents, they are beatable if you get ‘physical’ with them and attack with pace, exactly our forte !
Win tomorrow and we are set up brilliantly for the visit of the Scouser who are not playing well and we could be well on the way to a precious top 4 finish if not for the title itself.
We should not be afraid of the challenge tomorrow.
A festive cheer at the Emirates
Thanks to the wonderful people at Sky, with the fixture change we have been given a very tough Xmas period. MON has admitted as much by hinting players will be rested, for example you can not imagine Downing starting against both Arsenal and Liverpool.
So given Heskey’s injury is not as bad as feared but Carew scored against Stoke then trying to pick the team that starts against Liverpool does require some guesswork and therefore I am guessing the same team that started against Stoke.
We go to the Emirates on Sunday in very good form, very high in confidence and the knowledge we remain unbeaten in the three previous visits. Also we have the knowledge to come away unbeaten is a very good result and only further strengthens our claims to a top 4 finish. A win of course will mean we have beaten the ‘sky 4’ teams before the season reaches the New Year, that is a serious intent of a title challenge.
Arsenal at the moment are a bit of a curates egg of a team, when they are good they are easily the best in the league but like against Hull and despite the win they showed all their weakness’s which we can exploit and benefit from. Gabby in particular will be looking forward to facing Gallas again !
These two games may well shape the season as to how serious we are in a sustained challenge for the top 4 and beyond, with a stronger squad and the likes of Dunne on board I expect us to show the resolve we need.
Hopefully a Merry Xmas to us all
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