Villa 4 – 2 Nottingham Forest; Good win, but wow, that all new defence

We mostly don’t make things easy for ourselves, do we?
The headline score seems pretty convincing, but I really didn’t think it was at the time and I fully expected us to blow it and possibly even go on to lose the game.

Don’t get me wrong, I think overall we were the better side and deserved to win it, but that defence was pretty poor, to say the least. Of course, there are excuses, in that they’ve barely featured together, yet still, the way they seemed to switch off was a bit concerning.

The result is what mattered and we got it, but I think what quite pleased me is that while I don’t think Forest were any great shakes, we did also look very good performance-wise. The midfield is what won it for us, in my opinion, with McGinn having some superb stats. He completed 37 out of 42 passes, created 2 good chances, one leading to a goal and won the vast majority of his tackles. It seems he really is a bellwether for the side and if he plays well, so do the team.
Luiz got two goals, of course and pleasingly, both Tielemans and Ramsey assisted.
Ramsey is beginning to get back to some decent form, as much as I don’t feel he’s at the top of his game yet and I get the feeling that he’s only going to get better and better as the season goes on. That could prove to be a real plus.
I should note here that while some seem to think the ref had a good game, I feel he had a massive miss when Moreno had his arm being held/pulled in the box as he passed to Tielemans who hit the post. It was very plainly seen and was a blatant penalty in my eyes.

How good was Bailey? He is really looking the part. He gave the Forest right back a torrid time and got his own goal to cap off a very good display. Again, I’ll hold my hands up and admit I was totally wrong about him. He’s a great player, who’s now added to his overall efforts in helping out.
That said, Forest’s left side didn’t seem very convincing at all and this helped Matty Cash look good too.

That defence though, was giving me kittens and I’m concerned about how they’ll perform against better sides. It is what it is though and we took the win that keeps the wagon rolling.
It is beginning to look like I might have been wrong about the wheels having fallen off.
I do hope so.

UTV!

72 Comments

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  1. Gerry
    Gerry March 2, 2024 at 7:37 pm . Reply

    Great result. They got us rattled and we went to long ball. It was like playing against a brick wall. Just like we used to play.

  2. little8
    little8 March 2, 2024 at 7:38 pm . Reply

    Yeeeaaaassssd got out of jail but nothing better than a late goal ohhh absolutely buzzing woooo

  3. Sidforever
    Sidforever March 2, 2024 at 7:45 pm . Reply

    How often do the best teams get a goal in the dying embers of a match.?Man Utd always did under Fergie. Liverpool make a habit of it and I’m hoping we’ve just joined that club. If we have we are definitely moving into a different level.

  4. BFR
    BFR March 2, 2024 at 7:51 pm . Reply

    Ollie, well done. Just admitted on air that they relax when they’re 2 up and that it needs sorting. Music to Badger’s ears?

  5. OLL again
    OLL again March 2, 2024 at 8:49 pm . Reply

    I was going to watch the whole match until I saw Michael Oliver was reffing. One of the laws of football is you get him eventually – we’d been lucky so far. So the misssus & I went out. Me remarking we would need to score 3 to win. I got home in time to see us still 2 up, but Oliver buying every feint by Luton players tripping themselves up. Then Emi commits a howler for their equalizer trying to kick it clear.
    Despite all that we dig bag the 3rd – from an unlikely scorer. 3 valuable points – it must feel like more.

    1. The Ron Saunders Stand
      The Ron Saunders Stand March 2, 2024 at 9:24 pm . Reply

      Our run is evil, we really need something from next Sunday.
      The Spuds last two games are Burnley and Sheffield so you might as well say they already have another 6 points.
      We should get 5th comfortably but I believe 4th is a bridge too far.
      (I hope I’m wrong).

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