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Posts tagged “reserves

Villa lose reserve FINAL on PENS

A fantastic game of reserve team football finished 3-3 at full time, however we lost 3-2 in the penalty shoot out after poor pens by Collins and Fonz were saved and Albrighton hit wide. This was a thoroughly undeserved result for the Villa kids who deserved to win the title.

Villa totally dominated the first 40 mins and should have been 3 or 4 up but had to settle for 1-1 after the Fonz scored a good finish (after missing a simple header) and Man U equalised towards the end of the half.

The second half was fantastic stuff with Villa taking the lead twice through the Fonz and Clark on 86 mis only for a Roome slip to let in Diouf for the usual last gasp equaliser.

MOTM was Weimann and even though he did not score he was always dangerous.

Match thread here


RESERVE FINAL – Man U 3 VILLA 3 – The FONZ(2), CLARK – Man U win on Pens

RESERVE TEAM FINAL at Old Trafford, can Weimann fire Villa to the 2nd consecutive title

VILLA’s team is

VILLA: Marshall; Roome, Baker, Clark, O’Halloran; Albrighton, Bannan, Hogg, Hofbauer; Weimann, Delfouneso. Substitutes: Forrester, Bevan, Osbourne, Bradley, Collins.

Man U’s team is fairly strong

Foster, Rafael, Dudgeon, C Evans, De Laet, Gill, Stewart, Possebon, Diouf, Norwood, Macheda. Substitutes: Wooton, Zieler, Pogba, Obertan, Keane.
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MAN U win 3-2 on penalties after Albrighton, Collins and Fonz had theirs saved

FULL TIME and penalties and a very good game which Villa should have won comfortably

90 mins – Fonz spins and shoots wide, 3 mins extra time

88 mins – typical Man U late goal by Diouf, bad defending by Villa – Roome

86 mins – great move and Weimann’s shot deflected for a corner

83 mins – another corner, another Clark header but this time no goal but then justice as clear Man U pen turned down

81 mins – GOOAAAALLLL Villa’s captain Clark scores from a corner after Foster flaps

78 mins – Marshall gets away with a flap as Roome hits the crossbar but then Villa break and Weimann shoots wide

73 mins – Albrighton’s cross just a touch high

69 mins – Hogg should have done better after yet more great work from Weimann and blasts high

66 mins – Marshall saves well from Diouf

65 mins – we look shell shocked by that decision, Hogg NEVER touched the Man U player

61 mins – NEVER A PENALTY as Hogg apparently touched a Man U player, penalty slotted away by Macheda

56 mins – Weimann blazes over but he is showing the kind of quality that we should see in the first team soon

54 mins – fantastic work from Weimann to set up the FonZ on a plate

50 mins – Man U shoot straight at Marshall, very good start to the half

49 mins – Villa dominating as Hogg shoots over

47 mins – Weimann forces a great save, he looks the business

46 mins – Weimann shoots wide

SECOND HALF – James Collins on for Nathan Baker, injury

HALF TIME – Villa started brightly but Man U did not deserve the equaliser, however the Fonz’s first chance was a sitter, his goal though was very well taken.

44 mins – Man U’s pressure tells and Diouf equalises

42 mins – Man U more in the game Marshall has to make saves after our goal

35 mins – couple of Man U free kicks, not troubled Marshall

31 mins – First attack on Villa’s goal and Marshall saves well

23 mins – GOOOAAAALLLL, Villa’s domiance pays off as Bannan feeds the Fonz who scores

17 mins – all Villa

12 mins – Guess who, yes Albrighton causes more trouble, the Fonz heads just over

11 mins – Albrighton once again causes problems as a cross is just out of the forwards reach

8 mins – Clark gets onto an Albrighton corner but fails to hit the target

5 mins – Villa on the attack and Albrighton fires over

KICK OFF


Villa to face Man Utd in reserve play off FINAL

If you are interested in reserve team football Brian’s thread on VT is a must read.

So thanks to Brian we learnt tonight that Liverpool lost at home in the reserve Mersey derby which means that for the reserve league champions play off we will face Man Utd at Old Trafford.

The best news is that this will be on MUTV, so ssshhh, but streams will be available !


FULL TIME – Villa Reserves 2 Stoke Reserves 0 – Hofbauer (2)

Stoke have put out a very young team for this game against the champions

Villa’s team is

Marshall; Roome, Bouma, Clark, O’Halloran; Hogg, Bradley, Reo-Coker, Hofbauer; Forrester, Harewood. Subs: Albrighton, Bevan, Weimann, Collins Jnr.

The surprise being Harewood starting the game and Bouma at centre back

Villa took the lead through Hofbauer in the first half after dominating the whole half

Second half started off quieter and the likes of Albrighton and Weimann are on the bench.

Weimann came off the bench to set up Hofbauer for his second as Villa take total command and then straight away Bradley had one disallowed for a foul

Yet another comfortable win for the all conquering reserve side


Full Credit to Kevin Macdonald for Villa CHAMPIONS

For the third year running Villa under MacDonald’s excellent tutelage have made the final of the reserve league and after losing against Liverpool and beating Sunderland, hopes are high that we can retain the title against likely opponents Man Utd.

This achievement is a fantastic tribute to Kevin who must rank as one of the best, if not the best reserve coaches in the league. Of course Tony McAndrew and Cowans take a lot of credit for bring such good quality youngsters through.

This triumph has been done if you remember with a fair number of youngsters out on loan for a lot of the season, Herd, Baker, Lichaj, Collins and Bannan and it has to be said that under the captaincy of the surperb Clark (he HAS to be playing first team next season) and the goals of Weimann who is looking the real deal and to some extent better than the Fonz that we look like we have a great future.

MacDonald has now been at Villa for a long time now under a number of managers and it shows at that leverl continuity is everything and between him, McAndrew and Sid we have no doubt the best coaches in the whole league, the results proves this.

The reserve side often gets forgotten bit for me it is vital, if anything to save money for this to work properly and dedicated people like MacDonald often get forgotten. So this is my chance to say thank you to Kevin and lets hope for many more successful years at reserve level.


Villa – CHAMPIONS for 3rd year running

Villa have just beaten Fulham 2-1 at teh behind closed doors reserve freindly to win the Reserve Southern league.

Goals from Ciaran Clark and goal machine Andreas Weimann settled the game in Villa’s favour 2-1 against Fulham

Congratulations to all involved but especially Kevin MacDonald who is master of his art at reserve level.

Final against the Northen Champions likely to be against Man Utd.

EDIT: It was actually Barry Bannan who scored and not Weimann who set up Bannan


REMEMBER- Reserves to win title from 3PM

As blogged last week the reserves kick off behind closed doors at Bodymoor Heath at 3PM. This game is NOT at Villa Park.

The team is likely to be the regular team, including Weimann, Salifou, Clark, Hogg. Will be interesting to see if James Collins plays alongside Weimann instead of the Fonz who will be on first team duty against Everton on Wednesday.

Remember a win against Fulham and Villa will clinch the Southern league trophy to go into a playoff agaiunst the Northern champions, likely to be Man U.


Awful decision by Villa regarding reserve game move – UPDATE

I only posted yesterday that if we beat Fulham next Monday we would win the reserve league for the 2nd year running and then Villa have this announcement.

Villa’s reserve clash against Fulham on Monday has been moved.

The game will now take place behind closed doors at Bodymoor Heath with a 3pm kick-off.

It was originally due to take place at Villa Park at 7pm.

I only get to one reserve game a season but this is just wrong, it deprives the regular watchers of their fix of following the kids and senior pros. This is particularly poor as this could be the league winning game and yet Villa have given NO justification for it whatsoever.

OK so we have Everton 48 hours later but the pitch is in fantastic condition, great weather forecast and would easily cope with this game, besides they have had plenty of time to organise a game somewhere else.

I have commended Villa in the past for their PR but this brusque statement is not good enough and will disappoint and frustrate hundreds of regular reserve watchers.

UPDATE – 16:30

Villa released the following statement at half 4, not sure why this could not have been released 3 hours earlier though, bad PR.

Following consultation with the Premier League and Fulham FC, the club has been left with no alternative other than to play our reserve game against the Cottagers at 3pm on Monday, April 12, behind closed doors at Bodymoor Heath.

Having re-arranged our postponed Premier League match versus Everton for Wednesday, April 14, the club strongly expressed a desire to move this reserve fixture to a date later in the season.

But owing to our progression in the FA Youth Cup and Fulham’s progression in the Europa League – on top of postponements due to bad weather earlier in the season – it has proved impossible to arrive at an alternative date acceptable to everyone concerned.

Playing the match at Hinckley United was another option which we explored but, unfortunately, the Greene King Stadium is not available.

The Premier League insisted that the fixture be fulfilled and extended special dispensation for it to be played at our training ground, a decision which the club has reluctantly accepted.

We recognise also that many supporters have followed the reserve team in action throughout the season and, in order to avoid anyone missing the action, the club will broadcast Monday’s game on our website at www.avfc.co.uk. Full details will follow.

And please join us on Thursday, April 15, at Villa Park for our reserve match versus Stoke City when, hopefully, we can celebrate becoming Reserve League South Champions again!


RESERVE UPDATE: Villa need just one more win to win title

With thanks to BOF’s excellent reserve thread on Villatalk you can see all the information you could ever need on our reserves.

He has updated it to reflect Fulham’s draw against Wolves yesterday which basically means if we beat Fulham on Monday 12th April at Villa Park we are the champions and well deserves as we have led from start to finish.

It will be a throughly well deserved title win.


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.


Weimann’s goal again seals win for Villa reserves

Andreas Weimann’s 10th reserve goal in 12 games sealed a good win away at West Ham to keep Villa top of the Premier league reserve south.

Villa now lead from Arsenal by two points with two games in hand going into a ding dong tussle with Arsenal at Villa Park on bank holiday Monday.

In game which Villa dominated but did not create enough chances to show that on the scoreline, Weimann in the 34th minute with a natural goalscorers instinct he has sealed the game with a goal from his own saved shot. He is certainly one for the future and may be on the bench on Saturday given our injury issues.

A good result for Villa in what has been a bad week.


FULL TIME – West Ham Reserves 0 – Villa Reserves 1 – Weimann

Team Line Up

Marshall, O’Halloran, Clark, Davies, Hogg, Albrighton, Osbourne, Salifou, Hofbauer, Collins, Weimann. Substitutes: Forrester, Bevan, Carruthers, Deeney.

FULL TIME AND GREAT RESULT

90 Mins, near miss from a West Ham corner

84 mins and Albrighton shoots narrowly wide

10 mins to go ad got to say very quiet second half

Halfway through the half and comfortable but need the 2nd goal to seal it.

17 Mins – Narrow escape seems to have sparked Villa into life and created three quick chances in succession

12 Mins – Hammers hit the woodwork

8 mins in and slow start from both sides

David Bevan has come on for Andy Marshall

2nd HALF

Half Time and Villa dominance, should have been more up but Albrighton once again terrorising the defence with the goal machine

45 Minutes and some PC probs and guess who scored for Villa, no shock goal machine Weimann scored at the second chance

23 minutes and still Villa domination and a few near misses the latest from O’Halloran but nothing.

17 minutes and still all Villa possession no real chances, Albrighton dangerous as usual

First 10 Minutes Villa in control and force a corner from which nothing happens

Kick off at Bishops Stortford


Bouma missing from reserves against West Ham

The reserves play at West Ham tonight looking to take a giant step to clinching the reserve title against a very tough West Ham side who beat arsenal in their last outing.

The side is

VILLA: Andy Marshall, Stephen O’Halloran, Ciaran Clark, Curtis Davies, Jonathan Hogg, Marc Albrighton, Isaiah Osbourne, Moustapha Salifou, Dominic Hofbauer, James Collins, Andreas Weimann. Substitutes: Harry Forrester, David Bevan, Samir Carruthers, Ellis Deeney

So can Weimann carry on his terrific form and propel us to further victory.

However interesting to note the absence of Bouma from this team with no real explanation, is this injury or more encouraging could he be lined up for a place on Saturday instead of Warnock who is suffering I believe from numerous head knocks recently.

UPDATE:- On Villa reserve feed when asked had no answers for Bouma’s absence.


Reserves triumph at Hinckley, Weimann scores again.

Villa reserves triumphed at Hinckley Utd, last night with a 2-1 friendly win.

The team was

Villa line-up: Bevan, Lichaj, O’Halloran, Hogg, Clark, Hofbauer, Albrighton, Salifou, Collins, Weimann, Forrester. Substitutes: Cameron, Johnson, Ward, Halfhuid, Lampkin.

And no surprise that Weimann scored along with James Collins (not the ginge !!) for a young Villa 2nd string.


The future is bright as Villa beat Blues to extend lead at the top

Villa’s all conquering reserve side beat a young Blues side 4-0 with goals from Delfouneso (2) ,Weimann and Albrighton to further secure the lead at the top of the reserves South league.

A very solid performance saw goals from Albrighton in the first half a great curling shot. Weimann in the second half after cutting in and unleashing a powerful shot. Delf then followed up with a nicely taken goals after Albrighton put him away twice.

On top of this we had two goals disallowed through offside as yet another Blues side gets thrashed at Villa Park through a dominating performance by the Villans.

The future looks very bright as all four stars of the future Delf, Weimann, Clark and the outstanding Albrighton all contributed. These four could save Villa in the future a fortune they are all looking the real deal and should be promoted as fast as possible onto the bench and then into the first team.


FULL TIME – Villa Reserves 4 – Blues Reserves 0

Villa Team

Bevan, Lichaj, Bouma, Hogg, Clark, Davies, Albrighton, Salifou, Delfouneso, Weimann, Bannan. Substitutes: Forrester, Collins, O’Halloran, Hofbauer.

Who cares about Blues !!!

Villa start off positively but Blues force a good save from Bevan

Even game with Villa having most possession but few chances

Weimann had a goal ruled out for offside !

Delf, clear, then fires straight at the keeper, Villa well on top now

Villa go clear after fantastic strike from Albrighton and well deserved

HALF TIME and successful half, plenty of play and chances against a less experienced side

2nd half has started quietly

A couple of chances for Weimann and Salifou, Weimann once again looking impressive

And Weimann, the top scorer who has been a threat all game SCORES a cracking goal cutting in from the left.

Villa then further ease in front with Delf scoring from a a through ball from Albrighton, the three bright stars of Villa’s future doing well.

Hofbauer on for Salifou

O’Halloran comes on for Bouma after a nightmare few years

the Fonz seals the rout with a tap in from, yes, you guessed it, Albrighton

To round it off, Delf denied an hatrick by an offside decision.

Total domination by Villa


Villa post a very strong reserve side against Blues

Table toppers Villa are putting out a very strong squad for tonight’s reserve game at Villa Park against Blues (7PM KO)

VILLA: Bevan, Lichaj, Bouma, Hogg, Clark, Davies, Albrighton, Salifou, Delfouneso, Weimann, Bannan. Substitutes: Forrester, Collins, O’Halloran, Hofbauer.

BLUES: Doyle, Ozturk, Murphy, Sammons, Queudrue, Kerr, O’Shea, Mutch, Jervis, Shroot, Asante. Substitutes: Rowe, Butland, Hronec, Ntambwe, Redmond.

At reserve level this is as good as it gets and recovery still for Bouma and Davies with welcome run outs for Albrighton, Delf and Bannan.

Leading scorer Weimann will be looking forward to this game with the supply he should get against a weak (aren’t they always ??) Blues side.

Great news to see Stephen O’Halloran on the bench after two years wrecked by knee injuries.


FULL TIME Wolves Res 0 – Villa Res 3

Fantastic result for the Villa reserves up against a very strong Wolves team

VILLA: Bevan; Lichaj, Bouma, Clark, Davies; Salifou, Osbourne, Hogg; Weimann, Collins, Hofbauer. Substitutes: Forrester, Roome, Carruthers, Simmonds, Roberts.

WOLVES: Hennessey; Halford, Stearman, Elokobi, Friend; Surman, Castillo, Milijas, Mujangi; Maierhofer, Vokes. Substitutes: McCarey, Dunleavy, Hemmings, Spray.

Even though leading scorer Andreas Weimann was taken off injured for Harry Forrester, Villa were already one nil up thanks to a James Collins (not the ginge) goal.

Then Forrester who we brought from Watford for what could be a large fee stepped up and put a year of frustration behind him.

He scored one goal in the first half and then set up James Collins yet again with wonderful work on the wing and a great cross. Forrester has been talked about as the next big thing when he joined us and maybe something has finally clicked for him, I hope so.

A very good result against a very strong team full of PL players, looking good for yet another reserve league title.


Bouma in as strong Villa and Wolves reserve sides meet

Match kicks off at Bucks Head at 19:00

Wolves side is very strong almost equilvant to the one they played a Old Trafford a few weeks back, with the likes of Hennessey, Stearman and Milijas playing.

Villa will have in our side Bouma making his second welcome return from injury, Davies, Salifou and the returning Osbourne.

With the likes of Ciaran Clark and the undoubted star this season, Weimann, playing, it promises to be a very strong test for Villa’s table toppers.


Freddie’s return as Villa beat Chelsea as Weimann stars

A very encouraging first game back from Bouma as Villa reserves won 3-1 against a neat Chelsea side and strengthened the lead of the Reserve South League.

Very much like the first team we played on the counter attack and after a early scare when Chelsea ht the bar we took the lead when a strong Weimann shot was only parried in by the Chelsea keeper. A few minutes later Villa were sloppy at the back and conceded a soft goal. For the rest of the Half Chelsea dominated but Villa looked dangerous on the counter attack.

2nd half started scrappily but a fantastic overhead kick from Clark put Villa into the lead and we looked comfortable from then on and Weimann the top scorer sealed the game in the last minute after he won the ball.

The main attraction of the day was of course Bouma, he looked slim, reasonably fit and there is definite hope he can play his part in the full team, hope he recovers OK. However the stand out players were Clark at the back who was resolute and snuffed out all Chelsea’s attacks. The other player was Weimann who every time I see him is looking more and more the real deal and a top class prospect

Future stars for Villa but day belongs to the returning Freddie.


Villa reserves vs Chelsea reserves – Full Time – 3-1

FULL TIME – Very good win and excellent return for Freddie

then Weimann wins the ball, passes it to Hogg who squares it back to Weimann to seal the game

Saying that Bevan is forced to make a good save

Comfortable end from Villa in a decent game to watch

From the free kick Davies has a header saved by the goalkeeper

Davies gives a foul away right on the edge of the box, from the resulting free kick Villa broke to get their own free kick at the Holte End

Forrester on for Delf

On a break Delf shows his pace but delivery let him down

Chelsea miss a golden chance to equalise

Lichaj shoots wide, overall very quiet game for Bouma, perfect recovery

Villa GOOAALLLLL – Clark with a Gary Cahill scissor kick from a corner

Very poor half so far, no pattern and disjointed

Villa free kick, Clark over

2nd HALF

Half Time – 1-1 but Clark misses a clear header at goal. Davies looks fit enough, Weimann playing very well but the good news is that Bouma appears to be running free

Chelsea keeper makes a save from Davies

guiding header back from Bouma to Bevan after a dangerous Chelsea cross

Delf twists and turns and shoots, deflects for a corner

James Collins booked

Hofbauer wastes a great chance

Kakuta looks a class above, set up a chance there

Hofbauer shoots way over but Bouma looking slim but obviously lacking sharpness

James Collins just heads over

Chelsea playing the better football it has to be said, Villa very dangerous on the counter

Chelsea goal – Strickland from short range

Villa Goalllllll – weimann with a great shot but weak Chelsea keeping

Game kicked off and with a few minutes, Chelsea hit the bar

Very interesting game at Villa Park tonight (7PM KO). The all conquering Villa reserve side takes on a young and talented Chelsea side but from our point of view the return of Wilfred Bouma and the continued recovery of Curtis Davies is the main interest tonight.

The team is

Bevan,

Lichaj, Bouma, Clark, Davies,

Roome, Hogg, Collins, Weimann,

Delfouneso, Hofbauer.

Substitutes: Forrester, Carruthers, Roberts, Williams, Simmonds.

Updates will posted as the scores come in