It was a typically beautiful autumn evening as Villa Park
came into sight from Spaghetti Junction. The trees around Aston Church were a
fine mix of golden and claret, with a crisp chill in the air, serving as a
reminder that all my memories of leaving Villa Park to a pitch black sky,
illuminated by street lamps and burger stands with that ‘mop’ smell lingering were
soon to be returning – a wave of nostalgia rudely interrupted as I tried to get
the incredibly dodgy ATM machine at the corner shop by the chippy to bloody
work.
As for the game, I was expecting either our third 3-0 defeat
on the trot, or a tight and well-earned 0-0 draw. I saw something in between.
Both teams kept the ball down and tried to play some nice possession
football, leaving the individual flair players to take chances on, which made
for good watching. More noticeably, we were as well organised at the back as we’ve
been this season barring a few near misses, and at the end of the day it took
two top class goals from two top class players to undo us, and there’s no shame
in that.
In fact, I think there are quite a few positives to take
from the game.
There was an absolutely inspiring performance from Nathan
Baker in the first half who went above and beyond the call of duty to put his
body on the line for the team, making vital interceptions and countless
towering headers, even earning a chant from the Holte End – high praise considering
he has been subject to plenty of criticism and is often first in line to be
scapegoat when times are tough.
The tendency to hoof the ball forward into no-mans land at
the first chance also seems to be disappearing somewhat, with Guzan and Baker
himself (two frequent culprits) both making an obvious effort to look for the
simple short pass when possible. In fact, Baker’s constant controlling of the
ball and pushing it forward to Westwood might have impressed me more than his
defending, considering how hard he’s clearly been working on that side of his
game.
We also saw the long-awaited return of Benteke to action,
receiving one of the best ovations for a returning player I’ve ever seen down
B6, and he looked surprisingly sharp given the severity of his injury, with the
team looking much, much stronger and confident with him on the pitch.
His presence forced the substitute of Fernando, with a sole
job to sit on Benteke and try to eliminate his threat, very much a compliment
from Pellegrini.
Don’t get me wrong, the performance wasn’t exceptional, but
I honestly believe there’s far more to be smiling about after 3 consecutive losses
with no goals scored than you might think, and I still think we’re due to
finish on the right half of the table.
Only Spurs and Everton to go…
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