Villa currently lie in seventh place, five points behind fourth-placed Manchester City but only four above Everton, the Toffees making a late bid to snatch a European qualification spot. But for tomorrow only, league affairs will be forgotten. A second trip to Wembley for Villa fans could turn into a third if they overcome Chelsea to reach the FA Cup final for the first time in ten years. You can forgive the fans for not being in the most optimistic of spirits, but a repeat of last fortnight’s drubbing is highly doubtful – O’Neill will send out a much more motivated and disciplined side this time around. However, Chelsea go into tomorrow’s game on the back of a 2-1 victory against title rivals Manchester United, with Florent Malouda in frightening form and Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as dangerous as ever. It will be a difficult task for Villa, but victory will be the perfect morale booster ahead of the end-of-season run in.

Only six league games remain of the 2009/10 season. Next up for Villa is Everton, league positioning making victory all the more vital on Wednesday evening. David Moyes’ side, despite drawing their last two games, are finding form of late. Moyes has done an impressive job coping with injuries to several key players in his squad, and the game will not be an easy one; perhaps more difficult than Wolves and Sunderland, two sides which Villa could not break down at home. A place in the FA Cup final may give them the confidence they need to overcome Everton, but another draw is probably the most likely result.

Two consecutive away games follow, against soon-to-be relegated Portsmouth, and fellow strugglers Hull City. While Pompey no longer have anything to play for, they must not be underestimated as a strong team spirit and dedicated fans at Fratton Park can often inspire them to victory. Having already won 4-2 there this season in the Carling Cup, however, makes Villa favourites to collect all three points. Similarly, while Hull will be striving to collect as many points as possible to help their relegation fight, Villa will be looking to gain as much ground as they can on rivals Spurs, Liverpool and Man City.

Sunday 25th April sees the second fixture between Villa and rivals Birmingham City. Alex McLeish is surely up for nomination to receive the Manager of the Year award, guiding the Blues to a top-half finish in their first season back in the Premier League. The last Second City derby to be played at Villa Park saw the home side record a remarkable 5-1 victory, but you can guarantee it will not be repeated. It is by no means the same Birmingham side as the one fighting relegation two years ago, and Villa will need to be on top form to overcome their rivals this time around. Captain Liam Ridgewell will be hoping to lead fellow ex-Villains Kevin Phillips and Craig Gardner to their first win over Villa since 2004/05 in the Blues fans’ own ‘cup final,’ and it will be difficult to call this close and heated encounter.

The race for fourth place may well be over as Villa enter their last two league games, away at Man City and at home against Blackburn. The fixture at the City of Manchester Stadium will be an interesting one, Villa’s opponents providing a tougher challenge than many, and the quality of Tevez, Adebayor and co may be too hot for Villa to handle, particularly if they have already secured a finishing place above them in the league. Villa’s game against Blackburn will be the fifth time the two teams have met this season. And a win will round off nicely a fairly successful season for Villa, even without a Champions League spot.

The postponement of the fixture last week will certainly have affected Blackburn more than Villa. Sam Allardyce changed almost all of his starting eleven for the two teams’ last meeting – the aim to concentrate on more important priorities than the FA Cup. This backfired somewhat, as the next game Rovers played turned out to be Monday’s league clash with Manchester City, and resting players for this fixture was not an option. The 4-1 loss will have dented their confidence as well as rendering the highly altered FA Cup squad pointless. On the other hand, Villa, with the postponement of last Saturday’s game against Wigan, have allowed their players a long rest as well as keeping them in all cup competitions.

Villa’s League Cup form over the past few years has been dismal to say the least. In the past two seasons they have fallen at the first hurdle, with home defeats against lower-league Leicester City and Queens Park Rangers failing to satisfy the trophy-hungry fans. But this season’s early exit from Europe at the hands of Rapid Vienna has turned out to be a blessing in disguise, a slightly less busy fixture list contributing towards an impressive cup run. The last time Villa reached the semi finals was 2004, again coming up Sam Allardyce, then manager of Bolton Wanderers. It was Allardyce who came out victorious, midfield dynamo Jay Jay Okocha helping them towards a 5-4 aggregate victory, but lost to Middlesbrough in the final. Martin O’Neill will be determined to avoid a similar outcome this time around.

Team News:

Blackburn: Robinson; Jacobsen, Samba, Nelsen, Chimbonda; Emerton, Dunn, Pedersen, Nzunzi, Salgado; Kalinic

Villa: Guzan; Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock; A Young, Milner, Petrov, Downing; Heskey, Agbonlahor

Prediction:

Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Aston Villa

Villa’s quality, good form and well-rested squad will just give them the edge against Blackburn tonight. There is little chance that Rovers will lay down and die on their own turf, but Villa, spurred on by 5,000 noisy travelling fans, will most likely take the upper hand into the second leg.

Martin O’Neill and Sam Allardyce made seven and nine changes respectively from their previous fixtures. Rare starts were given to Habib Beye, Fabian Delph and 18-year-old Nathan Delfouneso, while Gabriel Agbonlahor and James Milner were omitted from the squad entirely. For Rovers, only Pascal Chimbonda and Gael Givet remained in the starting line up from their 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

The match began at a steady pace, with Villa just having the edge as Ashley Young and Stewart Downing launching crosses and corner kicks into the area. And it was Young who created the opening goal for Villa after 12 minutes, receiving Delph’s pass and sending the ball from the left into the area. There, Delfouneso was on hand to glance it past Blackburn’s second choice keeper Jason Brown and continue his decent goalscoring record in cup competitions. Young himself had a brilliant opportunity to double Villa’s lead around 10 minutes later. He raced onto Nigel Reo-Coker’s through ball with only the keeper to beat, but that wasn’t to be the case and Brown did well to block the shot.

The half hour mark had just been reached, when Blackburn were handed a chance to draw level. Referee Howard Webb pointed to the spot after claiming Reo-Coker had brought down Stephen Reid inside the box. Former Birmingham City midfielder David Dunn stepped up with the task of equalising, but unfortunately for him Brad Guzan was the man to beat. The 26-year-old American had already showed impressive penalty-saving form in the competition, performing heroics in the penalty shootout against Sunderland in an earlier round. This he continued, correctly diving to his left to foil Dunn.

Blackburn were left to rue their luck as seven minutes later, Villa made it 2, and again it was Young who provided the assist. A free kick was awarded for a foul on Stephen Warnock by Michel Salgado, and Young was on hand to swing it into the danger area for central defender Carlos Cuellar to head into the corner of the net and double his goal tally for the season. And the drama continued right up until the end of the first half, as Rovers found themselves down to 10 men on the 42nd minute. Habib Beye was the victim of a dangerous lunge from fellow Senegalese countryman El-Hadji Diouf, himself no stranger to controversy. Webb had little option but to send Diouf off, much to Allardyce’s displeasure.

There was little need for Villa to alter the team for the second half, but an injury to Delph meant they were forced to substitute him for Steve Sidwell. This appeared to have an impact on Villa’s creativity, and subsequently they found themselves under the kosh for a while as Blackburn focused on trying to get back into the game. Despite this it was still Villa who had the more threatning chances; Emile Heskey found himself one on one with the keeper thanks to a pinpoint Ashley Young pass. But the veteran striker could not capitalise, somewhat unsurprisingly it has to be said.

An ineffective David Dunn was replaced by Zurab Khizanishvili after 53 minutes, and almost immediately Blackburn pulled one back as a result of a rare Guzan mistake. A Morten Gamst Pedersen corner was dropped by the young American, and Nikola Kalinic simply headed it into the back of the net. Blackburn were looking more determined to equalise but it was a case of too little, too late. And Villa crowned their passage into the 4th round in the 90th minute. John Carew, an earlier substitute for Heskey, was brought down in the penalty area by Gael Givet, and blasted a central shot past Brown to make it 3-1 to Villa.

Man of the Match: Nigel Reo-Coker

Had Delph been on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, he would certainly have been a strong contender – always seemed to be behind Villa’s creativity up front. Ashley Young also deserves a mention, a much improved performance in which he was a constant threat. But Reo-Coker had an excellent game, doing his job of breaking down the Blackburn midfield extremely well.

Villa          3-1          Blackburn

Delfouneso 12       Kalinic 55

Cuellar 37

Carew (pen) 90

Attendance: 25,453

Martin O’Neill is sure to make several changes to his side. Veteran goalkeeper Brad Freidel could be rested and replaced by Brad Guzan, while Ashley Young is once again available after he missed Villa’s 1-0 home loss to Liverpool through suspension – James Milner is likely to make way for the winger if O’Neill decides to rest him – if not, Nigel Reo-Coker will drop to the bench. Emile Heskey is also likely to feature in the squad, illness meaning that he too missed the Liverpool game. In addition, summer signing James Collins may make a return to the starting line up. The defender has not featured since the 2-1 loss to West Ham, and while the current central defence partnership of Richard Dunne and Carlos Cuellar have been generally solid, the heavy schedule and conceding of four goals in the last two games mean that one of them is likely to make way for Collins. There is also the possibility of Cuellar instead moving to right-back in the place of Luke Young. As well as regular benchwarmers Steve Sidwell and Fabian Delph, young starlets Marc Albrighton and Nathan Delfouneso could also make an appearance. Sam Allardyce is also expected to rotate his squad, with Franco di Santo on hand to start after his loan deal from Chelsea was extended. David Dunn is back in full training after injury, and Brett Emerton faces a late fitness test, but both may be rested for Tuesday.

Possible Starting 11:

Aston Villa: Guzan; L Young, Dunne, Collins, Warnock; A Young, Delph, Petrov (c), Milner; Agbonlahor, Heskey.

Blackburn Rovers: Robinson; Chimbonda, Samba, Nelsen, Givet; Hoilett, Andrews, Nzonzi, Pedersen; Roberts, Diouf.

Prediction:

Both Villa and Blackburn will want to avoid a replay to add to their already busy month, so killing off the tie at the first time of asking will be more beneficial. While the FA Cup is probably low on each team’s list of priorities, the victor of this game will gain the psychological tie ahead of the midweek Carling Cup clash. And although Blackburn may possibly be more motivated after a winless December, Villa may just edge it in a close, scrappy encounter.

Villa          1-0          Blackburn

Agbonlahor

Attendance: ~32,000

And so began a torrid 7-season spell. Since then, Villa have picked up just 2 points from Anfield, their most recent visit ending in a 5-0 drubbing and a harsh red card for former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel, rightly rescinded after the game. So it was no surprise that, after an awful opening league defeat to Wigan, and a less than impressive 1-0 loss to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League, even the most optimistic of Villa fans were anticipating 90 minutes of pure torture, with a scoreline similar to something Andrew Flintoff and co might encounter on a daily basis. Out of all the supporters, journalists and pundits showing an interest in the game, very few would have predicted Villa to collect even one point, let alone three.

But it happened. Against all odds, Aston Villa left Merseyside victorious, a brave and inspired performance earning them a 3-1 win.

After his team’s poor start to the season, manager Martin O’Neill had come under criticism, mostly surrounding his choice of tactics and the starting 11 used. Judging by the teamsheet announced shortly before kick-off, he seemed to have taken note of his errors; O’Neill this time opted for a 4-5-1 formation. This was used in many of Villa’s impressive away performances of last season, including victories against Everton and Arsenal, and provided cover to a fragile back four while giving Gabriel Agbonlahor a chance to improve on his dismal form.

As expected, it was Liverpool who dominated the game, particularly in the early stages. The chances were flying in for the Reds, Yossi Benayoun and Gerrard both coming close, followed by a dramatic goalmouth scramble which looked as though it was easier to find the net; Friedel made sure this was not the case.

The pressure from the men in red was immense – but it was Villa, against the run of play, who took the lead. Young Brazilian Lucas was heavily involved, heading an Ashley Young free kick (which he himself needlessly conceded) past his own goalkeeper after pressure from James Milner.

Liverpool were beginning to look sloppy, their frustration epitomised by Pepe Reina’s yellow card. The Spanish ‘keeper kicked the ball away after disagreeing with the referee’s decision to award a corner against them. Ironically, Villa took full advantage. Nicky Shorey’s cross from the corner flag was met by Curtis Davies, whose header put his side 2-0 up.

And after the interval it was much the same. Chance after chance fell to Liverpool, including two headers from Kuyt and a strong drive by Gerrard, but it took them 72 minutes to capitalize. Emiliano Insua set up Torres, whose fierce shot found the back of the net. Would this be the beginning of a remarkable comeback by Liverpool? The sinking feeling in the pit of the away fan’s stomachs seemed to agree.

This lasted only two minutes. Nigel Reo-Coker’s burst into the penalty box was halted rather abruptly by Gerrard. The England star, the centre of so many of Liverpool’s penalty dramas, now found himself on the other end – his rash tackle gave Villa the opportunity to make it 3-1. And it was Ashley Young who welcomed the opportunity; his spot kick sent Reina the wrong way, and made sure Villa left with all three points.

Villa came to Anfield with a gameplan. Davies and Carlos Cuellar gave everything they had in the centre of defence, ensuring the strikeforce of Dirk Kuyt and Fernando Torres did not find a way through. And despite their possession, Liverpool could not quell the strength of the Villa midfield. Steve Sidwell, captain Stiliyan Petrov and in particular Nigel Reo-Coker made tackle after tackle, and thwarted the majority of their attempts to break through. And Fridel was heroic between the sticks, throwing himself in front of every ball. This unexpected result is surely a confidence boost for Villa going into the second leg of their European tie on Thursday, and a sign that, with a few more signings and continued organisation, the Villans are capable of competing with the ‘big boys’ this season.

Peace Cup

Despite a 1-0 loss to Malaga, progression into the next round was ensured with victory over Atlante. A heated tie with Porto, in which Emile Heskey was sent off, resulted in a 2-1 win for Villa, Heskey and Steve Sidwell providing the goals.

This gave Villa a place in the final against Juventus, who had beaten a strong Real Madrid team 2-1 in the previous round. It would take a tremendous effort to overcome the Italian side, but we managed it. A hard-fought game brought chances for both sides to win within normal time, with Villa dominating the majority of the first half as Juve began to pile on the pressure later on. But despite impressive performances from individuals such as Marc Albrighton and Barry Bannan, the deadlock couldn’t be broken, not even during extra time, and the game went on to penalties.

After penalty number 5, it was tied at 3-3. Bannan, Shane Lowry and Ashley Young had all scored for Villa, but Steve Sidwell had fired over, and Chris Herd’s effort was saved. David Trezeguet, Amauri and Felipe Melo had found the back of the net for Juve, while Guzan had saved from Vincenzo Iaquinta. It was now all down to Alessandro Del Piero. The Italian World Cup-winning forward, and Juve’s highest capped player, could have won it for his side. All it required was a well-placed shot past Villa keeper Brad Guzan.

But bizzarely, Del Piero opted for a weak strike straight down the middle – Guzan could hardly believe his luck, easily saving the ball as it trickled towards him. Carlos Cuellar, who had put in a splendid and much improved performance during the game, stepped up to take Villa’s next spot kick. Mental images of Cuellar’s frequent clumsy long balls down the pitch must have flashed up in the minds of every Villa fan at this point, but we needn’t have feared; he blasted it confidently into the top left hand corner. Finally, after the next penalty, there was a winner. Nicola Legrottaglie’s miss sent the Villa team into emphatic celebrations, with Bannan, Davies and Albrighton the first to reach Guzan and congratulate the heroic goalkeeper.

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Technically, the Peace Cup has no relevance to the Premier League; it is just a pre-season tournament, after all. But morally it was very important, especially when considering the strength of the Villa squad at the time. Experienced members of the regular starting 11 were missing, i.e Stiliyan Petrov and Emile Heskey. At the beginning of the match, the lineup consisted of three youth team players, which following substitutions during the game became six by the final whistle. This against Champions League regulars and World Cup stars. And anyone who thought it was meaningless, try telling that to Juve, who struggled to hide their disappointment while collecting their runners-up medals.

Delph: star of the future

 

This could be a potentially massive signing by Martin O’Neill. The youngster has impressed in League One with Leeds, scoring several fantastic goals last season, and many fans within the division believe he would have no problem stepping up to the Premier League. A whole host of top clubs were interested in Delph, including Everton, Manchester City, Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland. Manchester City’s bid was initially accepted, but after demanding a week to consider the deal, Leeds accepted Villa’s offer, praising the “honourable manner in which Aston Villa have conducted their interest in the player.”

Delph has since stated that he is not motivated by money, but by the desire to improve as a player, and become the best he can, and felt Villa was the best place to be due of the progression of young English talent at Villa Park since the arrival of O’Neill. For that he has already earnt the respect of many Villa fans, and his Premier League debut is eagerly awaited.

Habib Beye

The Senegalese right-back joined the club on August 7th, for approximately £2.5 million, from Newcastle United.

Beye: popular and experienced defender

 

A reliable player, who puts his best effort into every game, and can also provide an option when going forward. These are just some of the reasons he was voted Newcastle’s Player of the Year last season. Beye became something of a cult hero with fans up in the North East, who adapted the theme tune from ‘Happy Days’ to sing in honour of him.

Beye, who has previously played for PSG, Strasbourg and Marseille, had initially said he wanted to stay at Newcastle and help them regain their Premier League status. However, as problems continued behind the scenes, he realised he had to move in order to save his career.

“I’d like nothing more than to stay and help the team get back to where it belongs but there is no chance of us being promoted the way things are going. Training has been good … but there is a sense that everything is just drifting. This cannot go on, it really can’t. I feel for the good of my career I have to get away because it is dragging me down.”

Hull City’s bid was accepted by Newcastle, but after interest from Villa, he signed a 3-year deal the following day. Their loss is hopefully our gain.

Andy Marshall

The goalkeeper has signed a one-year contract, a free agent after his release by Coventry City.

Marshall: third-choice ‘keeper?

Quite an unexpected signing from a fan’s point of view. But O’Neill has seemingly decided young ‘keeper Elliot Parish is not yet experienced enough to be seen as a deputy to Friedel and Guzan. At 34, Marshall is probably not intended to be starting many games for Villa, but insted to help the development of the younger shot-stoppers, and be an already able replacement if needed.

Villa 1-0 Fiorentina

With only a week to go before the beginning of the season, a pre-season friendly against a team participating in the Champions League play-offs seemed a perfect way to prepare.

The starting 11 was a mixture of youth and experience. James Milner, Craig Gardner and Gabby Agbonlahor returned to the team, after an extended break due to participation in the European Under-21 championships. Emile Heskey and Brad Friedel returned, Eric Lichaj and Nicky Shorey kept their places – as did Ashley Young, captaining the side – while young central defender Ciaran Clark replaced Curtis Davies in defence. A debut was also handed to new signing Fabian Delph.

An outstanding debut from Delph

And it was the youth who stole the show. Delph was certainly making his mark – after a relatively quiet first 10 minutes, he was soon catching the eye of the 22,000 inside Villa Park. Bursting forwards, creating chances and constantly looking to win the ball. A definite contender for Man of the Match and a starting place against Wigan. The Fiorentina manager Cesare Prandelli agreed:

“I know all about Ashley Young but I was not aware of this boy Delph. I was very impressed. He has a great personality, never lost a ball and always had an alternative.”

Albrighton and Delfouneso were also impressive. Substitutions during the second half, they gave the side a different edge. Albrighton was extremely industrious, constantly running down the right and providing crosses for the likes of Heskey and Delfouneso in the middle. Agbonlahor was ineffective, Carew and Young strangely quiet. Heskey was a lot more lively than usual, and indeed he turned out to be the matchwinner, a header after 16 minutes from a Young cross. Fiorentina were more threatening during the second half, but the Villa back four, including Davies who came on in the second half, dealt with everything thrown at them. Fiorentina won a penalty with 15 minutes to go, as a result of a Davies handball. But Alberto Gilardino missed the spot-kick (which begs the question: are our opposition cursed when it comes to penalties? Let’s hope so) and Villa’s lead lasted until the final whistle.

Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic: Preview

It is well known the effect that a new manager can have on a club, and Wigan fans will hope it applies to them this weekend. Roberto Martinez would be hoping to improve on Wigan’s 11th place finish last year, under now-Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, and a positive start to the season will be crucial towards this.

Villa will also be looking for an early 3 points, and O’Neill will most likely be handing Premier League debuts to Habib Beye and Fabian Delph. Right-back Beye will replace Eric Lichaj; Luke Young is still not 100% fit and after the sad death of his younger brother Andre, is unlikely to feature. Delph will retain his place in midfield, along with Ashley Young, James Milner – who had an extremely impressive England debut on Wednesday – and possibly a return for Stiliyan Petrov, recovering from a shoulder injury and the lead contender to captain the side. A starting place also beckons for Carew, who also impressed on international duty for Norway.

Predicted Starting XI:

Aston Villa: Friedel, Beye, Davies, Cuellar, Shorey, Milner, Petrov, Delph, Ashley Young, Carew, Agbonlahor.

Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Boyce, Bramble, Scharner, Brown, N’Zogbia, Koumas, Gomez, Scotland, Rodallega.

Predicted Result:

Aston Villa            2-1            Wigan

Delph, Carew                        Scotland

Instead, our sole signing so far is a midfielder injured until December, and the squad has now lost a centre back in Zat Knight.

The problems start with Luke Young and Wilfred Bouma. A strong contender for Player of the Season last year, Young has had to fly home from Spain with a thigh injury, and with Bouma still not up to 100% fitness, young American Eric Lichaj and Nicky Shorey have been playing right- and left-back respectively. And for Curtis Davies and Carlos Cuellar, it is not just the lack of experienced replacements should they themselves pick up injuries that O’Neill has to worry about; as good as their reputation may be, both Davies and Cuellar have put in below-par performances in a number of pre-season games.

Curtis Davies looks on as Villa concede against Atlante

So when you consider the apparent weakness of the Villa squad, the sale of Knight to Bolton seems even more baffling. And with less than 3 weeks until the beginning of the Premier League season, O’Neill needs to act quickly. A poor start could hinder the club’s high ambitions of bettering last year’s final league position. To finish 5th, or even 4th, money has to be spent, and soon. Selling before buying only makes for even more of an uphill struggle.

Zat Knight’s Villa career

After an eight-year spell with Fulham, in which he made 150 appearances and scored three goals, Knight moved to Villa on 29th August 2007, strangely enough after scoring an own goal in his last match for Fulham, which helped Villa to a 2-1 victory against the Cottagers. The 6ft 6in defender signed a 4-year-contract with the team he had supported since a young age, describing the move as “a dream come true.”

He certainly could have used the same phrase when talking about his debut in claret and blue. On 2nd September, he was a key player in Villa’s 2-0 win against Chelsea, helping keep a clean sheet and getting on the scoresheet himself. A header from a Gareth Barry corner in the second minute of the second half was celebrated by patting the badge on his shirt and running jubilantly towards O’Neill.

Knight’s only other goal for Villa was also memorable; a dramatic injury time equaliser against Arsenal on Boxing Day 2008. The Gunners were leading 2-0 against the run of play, and after Barry’s 65th minute spot kick reduced the deficit, Knight was in the right place at the right time to put a left footed shot past Manuel Almunia and send Villa Park into raptures.

Knight celebrates his goal against Arsenal

Zat put in the utmost effort into every game he played, and did not complain at all about being left on the bench for long periods. But frequent lapses of concentration, many of which ended up costing the club points, and a habit of hoofing a long ball up the field, meant that he slipped down the pecking order somewhat, and when he did play he became a sort of scapegoat for the team’s defensive problems. On July 29th 2009, Knight moved to Bolton Wanderers for a fee of around £4 million, after making 40 appearances for his boyhood club.

In the end, Knight was just not good enough for a team trying to qualify for the Champions League. The irony of pairing up with Gary Cahill – the man he replaced in the Villa team – will no doubt amuse some fans, but on behalf of the majority, I say thank you Zat, and best of luck at your new club.

However, judging by the first 45 minutes of the game, this wasn’t going to be the case. After a relatively quiet start, Villa were a man and a goal down within minutes of each other. Stiliyan Petrov, captaining the side, left the field with what looked like a serious shoulder injury on 19 minutes, and shortly afterwards Curtis Davies bundled a opposition cross past Brad Guzan.

Atlante looked dangerous, coming close to a second goal against two central defenders who looked as if they’d only just become acquainted with each other. A lazy pass from Davies to Carlos Cuellar, just too far in front of the Spaniard, was met with little effort to receive and rolled out of play, epitomizing their below-par first half performance.

It got worse. Around the half-hour mark a free kick given against Ashley Young did not impress manager Martin O’Neill. Never one to keep his feelings to himself, he decided to inform the Atlante player in question, as well as the referee, exactly what he thought about the decision, and was promptly sent to the stands.

But a glimmer of hope was provided by Marc Albrighton. John Carew’s header from Young’s free kick could only be parried by the keeper, leaving Petrov’s replacement to powerfully volley home.

Albrighton: Mature and convincing performance

Only 3 minutes into the second half and Villa were in front. Eric Lichaj’s long free kick was simply headed into the path of Carew, the big Norwegian taking advantage of some sloppy defending by Atlante.

This was a different side to the one that turned up for the first half; there was now more urgency, more desire, and more skill. Reo-Coker was tenacious in midfield, Young was causing all sorts of problems down the right hand side, Guzan looked solid in goal, and there were impressive individual performances from youngsters Lichaj and Albrighton.

In fact it was the latter who set up Villa’s third, and decisive goal. A superb, perfectly-timed low cross was played into Young, who headed home to provide Villa with a 3-1 victory and a ticket into the next round.

&border=0&rel=0&egm=0&color1=0x666666&color2=0xefefef' /> ]]> http://villa.footballblog.co.uk/villa-progress-in-peace-cup-with-second-half-comeback.html/feed 1 http://villa.footballblog.co.uk/new-home-kit-released.html http://villa.footballblog.co.uk/new-home-kit-released.html#comments Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:48:07 +0000 Hitzltrov http://villa.footballblog.co.uk/?p=56 Paul Brown and Jack Woodward’s ‘Bullring to Bullring’ expedition ended yesterday, providing the fans with a first glimpse of the home kit for the upcoming 2009/10 season.

The club’s journalists were set the challenge of driving from Birmingham – setting off at 7am on 21st July – all the way to the team’s training camp in Malaga, where they are situated ready to take part in the Peace Cup, which starts today. The two vehicles contained the brand new shirt, shorts and socks for the squad over in Spain, and, after a journey of just under 2,000 miles, pictures of the kit were released onto the world wide web after Brown, Woodward and McGregor the Gnome arrived at their destination in the early afternoon of Friday 24th July.

But many fans, after the immense build-up, are struggling to see what all the hype is about – it is, at first glance, extremely similar to last season’s. In fact the only clear changed are the collar, rounded as opposed to V-necked, and the blue piping on a claret shoulder, instead of a solid blue sleeve and shoulder.

The shorts are slightly different, and the goalkeeper’s shirt is…well…green. A little too green, perhaps?

Generally, though, it is a smart looking kit. Simple, yet classy. In all fairness, retaining the traditional claret body/blue sleeves would look a lot better than hoops, stripes or any other drastic change. And the shade of claret is spot on, avoiding a repeat of the horrendous, almost-purple colour of the 2001/02 shirt.

Friedel started in goal, behind a first team defence of Cuellar, Knight, Davies and Shorey. With Albrighton, Reo-Coker, Sidwell, Osbourne and Bannan in midfield, Harewood, who spend the remainder of last season on loan at Wolves, was played as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation. Andreas Weimann, who opened the scoring against Peterborough last Saturday, had to settle for a place on the bench.

Weimann in action for the reserves last season

The game started quietly. Villa maintained much of the possession, but both teams tested the opposition goalkeeper; Harewood and Albrighton on seperate occasions finished just wide, and Anthony Wordsworth’s suggestive cross forced a catch from Friedel. It was in fact Colchester who opened the scoring after 25 minutes, Scott Vernon outjumping the Villa defence to head in Dean Hammond’s free kick. A poor goal to concede from Villa’s point of view.

Villa tried to get back into the game, with Albrighton escaping his marker and sending a stinging shot towards the bottom corner, forcing Mark Cousins in the Colchester goal into a decent save, but he was replaced at half-time by Weimann.

A strong start to the second half by Villa was thwarted by a second Colchester goal. 11 minutes after the restart, David Fox’s cross was headed across goal by Clive Platt where Ashley Vincent struck fiercely into the bottom right hand corner to give the U’s a 2-goal advantage.

But Villa were back in the game 8 minutes later. Barry Bannan’s free-kick found its way into the path of Steve Sidwell, who made no mistake from 8 yards out on his left foot. A quadruple substitution on 66 minutes was a good move by the manager, giving a number of young players the chance to impress.

And it paid off. With around 20 minutes left, Villa were level. Weimann’s shot was parried by Cousins against his own defender, McGurk showing good predatory instinct to get the final touch into the back of the net.

The verdict:

Cuellar is not a right back

In the end, a draw was probably a fair result. Colchester worked hard and gave a good show of themselves against a near-strength Villa side.

The Young Lions were also very impressive; Weimann and Albrighton in particular singled out for praise, and if Bannan continues his good form, it would not be surprising to see him feature regularly in the first team next season.

The big worry for Villa, with the start of the Premier League nearing ever closer, is the state of the defence. The lineup against Colchester would have been typical of that in a league game last season, and some sloppy defending, particularly from Davies, only highlighted O’Neills need to buy a good quality centre back to replace Laursen.

And, no matter how much the manager wants to pretend… Cuellar is no right back.