I can honestly say I don’t remember the last time I was so stressed over a game and my stomach was knotted for the majority of it.
In the first half we lacked the self-assuredness we’ve shown for the last couple of months and our play just looked disjointed. When Whelan made a mistake to let Gayle in for a well taken goal, I was seriously worried.
We should give Albion credit here, as they looked very organised, worked incredibly hard and looked threatening on the counter.
I just had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be our day.
I wanted changes for the second half, but Smith decided against at half time and not much changed until Hourihane and Green came on just after the hour mark.
After Grealish had been playing most of the game far too deep to be a threat, he got hold of the ball in their area and setup Hourihane for a good shot and goal. Just as I was thinking about how inneffective he’d been up till then.
That’s what makes him such a good player; he has the ability to create something just when it seems unlikely.
And then Jack won us a penalty just five minutes later when he was clearly tripped by Kieran Gibbs.
There was no mistake from Abraham who had seen very little of the ball before then and he cracked it home for 2-1.
Then, we looked much better and were creating and threatening more, although Albion can feel aggrieved that they didn’t get a penalty after a Tammy Abraham push.
And then Dwight Gayle got sent off after recklessly piling into Jed Steer, which earned him a second yellow and more importantly a one match ban.
He won’t be facing us on Tuesday and that’s a massive blow for them, as he played well and we couldn’t handle him.
Did the pressure get to us today?
It seemed like it to me as that was probably the worst we’ve played in quite a while.
But again we showed our resilience in coming from behind and demonstrated that the game isn’t over till it’s over.
So I called the result correctly and while I’m glad, it certainly wasn’t an easy game to watch.
For the majority of it, I was wondering how we were going to take anything from the 2-legs and going into Tuesday’s game a goal down would have been a serious psychological blow.
Now, with us having the lead and Gayle missing the game, it gives us the advantage and I’m relieved.
It all makes for a very interesting second leg, where Albion will need to come at us, hopefully leaving themselves open.
Thank god it’s over.
What am I going to be like on Tuesday?
Badger, I’m still in heaven at the minute, that first half I was thinking no way this is the Villa playing, they had one plan and it was give Gayle the ball he would do the rest, Bad move on Whelan behalf giving the ball away but hey we did it again coming back from behind. We all knew Albion had do come out and we started to be the Villa we know. Now for Tuesday’s game cannot wait. job half done .
I wasn’t able to see the game for which, if I’m being honest, I was quite grateful. I could only get access to the text every now and again and when they scored first I thought that might be it, they’d shut up shop and take a goal lead back to the Hawthorns.
But we are resilient and, from what I’ve read here, we weren’t at our best yet we found a way to win the game.
Gayle out is a blow for the Baggies and I’m also wondering if super-sub Robson Kanu’s red card might only make their striker situation worse.
We should go all out to get a goal, once we score I think it might be game over.
COYL
They will still be a threat from crosses into the box. They had us in a panic on a few occasions and with Gayle being out that might be their best hope of scoring. It will be interesting to see if Smith starts with Hourihane on Tuesday. He certainly changed the game today and is a better passer and finisher. With Adomah ineffective again it might be Green or Kodjia who get the opportunity to start. Also kudos to Steer for that outstanding save. He has been first class since he came back into the side.
Agreed, they’ll still carry a threat, but it would seem to be much reduced.
Also tend to agree Hourihane should start, although Whelan is a far more physical player which might be what Smith thinks we’ll need.
Meanwhile, Tammy’s latest quote;
“I don’t want to say it’s my last game here yet… like I said it’s been a fantastic year, this stadium, there’s nothing like it, when it’s rocking, which it has been all year, it’s the best place to be.”
Interesting.
Meanwhile, Leeds looking better than Derby in a fast paced game, but it remains 0-0.
With regard to the Leeds game they look good and have had loads of possession but it reminds me of the Brentford game where had 70% possession and lost 2-0.
When Leeds get in the box the last shot/pass/cross has been woeful so far.
Having said that Leeds score 🙁
I really believe that if we got promoted then Abraham would join us. On the other hand Chelsea have a transfer embargo so we might not get an option.
Leeds 1-0 up!
It’s nice to think they’ll be less of a threat without Gayle. But they won’t. They’ll have a game plan to adjust. It could actually help them. The worst thing we can do is lower our guard in complacency!
Great through ball then for the goal, Pat.
Holte, maybe another loan and we buy him when the embargo is up type of agreement?
Yes terrific pass alright but still poorly defended by Derby.
Derby look like they are struggling now they have to commit.
On Abraham it depends on who leaves Chelsea. If Hazard goes they don’t have too many options up front.
On a different note, did I hear correctly that Albion hadn’t lost a game till today when scoring first.
Yep, correct.
Derby unlucky. If they’d had VAR Leeds would have been down to nine and it would have been 1-1
wba did what i expected, sit very deep and deny villa space. made it very hard for villa to pick up the tempo of our passes, baggies whole game plan was to spoil, villa struggled big time which then got double trouble, after we gave away the soft goal to them. but credit to us, we continued to try to play to our philosophy even thou we fell short of our best, or was it more of we were made to look bad by baggies good game plan and execution , great goal from hourihane and cool pen from tammy. the game will now be totally different 2nd leg ., baggies will have to come out and play and thats where villa will wrap up the tie. but it was a difficult game today and we worked it out JUST.
leeds looked better today at derby winning 1 nil. i thought they could have beaten the rams further, but 1 nil will be good scoreline for lampard. referee also had a mare awarding the rams and pen and then changing his mind., was a definite pen for me . holmes was good for derby and harrison for leeds. rams hardly tested leeds goalie.
It was always going to be difficult today. Albion were never going to be pushovers, and won’t be on Tuesday either. The prize is too big for any team to just step aside. Brunt was right when he say it’s not our divine right. We’ll have to battle on Tuesday to earn it. An early away goal would be a huge blow to their spirit. But after seeing what happened in Europe this week, nothing, absolutely nothing, should be taken for granted. The team will need to be fully focussed and battle until the very last whistle.
Our advantage means we simply have to keep a clean sheet. OR, not lose the game. If the proper Villa that we’ve seen since February turns up, we’re in with a shout!
I predicted Leeds for the final and Derby have it all to do. I’d love it to be Derby, not least because that’s where I’ve lived all my life, but I’ll stick with my prediction.
UTV
I think losing Gayle is a bigger blow than us scoring a third goal.
Under Shan, Baggies set up on a 3-5-2 formation and a key to their success is the partnership and understanding between Gayle and Rodriguez up front. Take out Gayle and they not only lose an exceptional player but also their primary game plan with no Robson Kanu to come in and fill the void. Can they still work with a 3-5-2 or will they have to adopt a formation that they are not comfortable with?
I’m not suggesting it will be easy but it’s certainly to our advantage that Gayle can’t play in the second leg.
Today we showed our resilience yet again whilst playing below par. Several players were not at the level we’ve come to expect – in particular I thought McGinn had a very quiet game (not a criticism – just an observation). Will we also be ‘below par’ Tuesday night?
All to play for.
UTV
It might have been a 3-5-2 on paper, but it looked like two banks of 4 or 5 at times.
Which is what made the first half so difficult, imo.
Agreed, McGinn didn’t look up to his usual standard, but we could say the same about many of the lads.
McGinn and Mings probably played their worst games for us.
I doubt they’ll be as average on Tuesday.
i thought baggies got their tactics spot on. they do play 352, but not yesterday they changed their game to get a draw or sneak the win. which they very nearly did. sitting deep as they did and leaving Gayle upfront to cause villa problems building from the back. it wasnt by accident he scored. he worked hard pressing all the villa back players. he was one of the most affective players on the pitch up to his sending off. i can sympathies with him on the sending off. he had to challenge for the ball. he is a committed player and goal scorer, but sliding in was risky, especially when on a yellow card for blatantly time wasting over the throw ins.
this tie was always going to be settled 2nd leg and come alive there at hawthorns. baggies will come out and try to win the tie but without gayle its going to be very difficult. we just need to be professional about it. see villa strolling to victory. 3 1 there.
Gale should had had 2nd yellow earlier for pulling Jack back.
Apparently the Baggies complained that Grealish dived for the penalty and it was referred to an independent FA panel that determined simulation did not take place. They must be desperate – trying to get Grealish banned.
Let’s remind them.
One of my indelible sporting memories is not a sight but a sound. I’m watching Aston Villa play West Bromwich Albion one grey day in 1977. The derby is always intense, but today there seems a kind of malevolence to the match, and to the crowd; you would n ot want to be out there. In the Villa midfield is a slight fi gure called Alex Cropley, a Scot who is in the form of his life. The previous season he had inspired Villa to a 5-1 win over Liverpool, the champions , and this afternoon he is making the Albion side – the team of John Wile and Len Cantello, one of the most uncompromising ever to take to a football field – look like park players.
There is nothing of Cropley, he is in that mould of footballer that is quick and wiry, playing in spaces, seeing gaps, but he is fearless, too, never stepping back from a challenge. The Villa fans have a favourite song, through which, in the company of my dad, I tend to mumble, though I appreciate the sentiment: ‘ Five-foot eight, not much weight, Alex Cropley’s fucking great, la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.’
In my memory, I’m half-humming this and straining to see the pitch when a ball falls from the sky exactly between Cropley and an Albion player named Ally Brown , both running at full pace from opposite directions about 10 yards apart; an instant later Cropley meets the ball and Brown meets Cropley with all the force at his will, a force that seems to have built up steadily with each challenge in the match , and is looking for a way to escape. It is then I hear the sound, an other-worldly noise, easily loud enough to silence 35,000 people in a state of high excitement, like the gunshot that starts a race. This is not a start, though; it’s an ending of sorts. It is the sound of Alex Cropley’s breaking leg, a sharp crack that snaps tibia and fibula and leaves the lower portion of his shin skewed at a vicious angle to the upper part.
I can still hear it now, that crack that seemed to echo in an absolute chill quiet . I don’t remember any of the goals of that game, or of that season, but I’ll never forget that sound; it was the first moment in my life as a spectator, I suppose, when sport suddenly seemed like mortality. Major injuries always announce themselves immediately; teammates know the worst has happened, so do fans, so does the player. The suspension of disbelief that surrounds the match is punctured, the injury allows a different, messier register of understanding back into a stadium. What has seemed play, suddenly is real; where all before was speed and recklessness, now all is care and slowness.
‘
Bill – wonderful post so well articulated. If I remember correctly it finished Cropley’s career in that he was never the same player again.
I worry that with an aggressive crowd and all the shenanigans over the penalty at Villa Park the Albion will mark Grealish literally and he could get badly injured. I hope I’m wrong.
My worry Hitch, the Albion have been our worse arch rivals over the years, I just hope no bad feelings in to nights game, I know we have the city games in them years but it’s like tonight’s game that worries me..
Very descriptive and I think the Guardian thought it so as well. Not exactly cheering but here’s a thought, 1977 and Villa won both games scoring 7 and conceding none. Makes me more than hopeful.