Aston Villa grab crucial away goal in 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna
English Premier League outfit Aston Villa have given themselves a great chance of progressing to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League after grabbing a vital away goal in a play-off stage draw with Rapid Vienna.
Villa took the lead after a terrific start which saw Barry Bannan strike home from four yards out, but the hosts pulled themselves back into the tie after 32 minutes when Atdhe Nuhiu got the slightest of touches on a cross to glance the ball past goalkeeper Brad Guzan.
Experimental side
Caretaker manager Kevin MacDonald opted to field an experimental side in Austria despite losing to Rapid at the same stage of the competition last season. He made several changes from the side which dismantled West Ham United in a 3-0 win in the opening game of the EPL season. One of them was enforced after James Milner was sold to Manchester City yesterday, but debuts were handed to Eric Lichaj and Jonathan Hogg.
Despite missing a host of regular first-team players, Villa got off to a great start with 20-year-old winger Marc Albrighton – who kept his place from the West Ham game – giving the Rapid defence plenty to worry about on the right of the pitch. He stormed past Markus Katzer in the opening moments and quickly fired in a cross. However, Bannon could only shoot wide from Emile Heskey’s flick on.
Though they were in complete control in the early stages, MacDonald’s men almost found themselves behind when Rapid’s appeals for a penalty after a challenge by Stephen Warnock were turned down before Nuhiu’s strike was nudged to safety by Guzan.
Fortunate not to have conceded, Villa quickly found themselves at the other end of the pitch where Albrighton thumped in another cross to leave 20-year-old Scotland youth international Bannan with the simplest of tap-ins after 11 minutes.
Villa dominant
Villa had most of the ball and were dominant but the home side managed to claw themselves back into the match, largely due to the talented Steffen Hofmann. The attacking midfielder began to open the game up for Rapid, and he worked the ball into the wings from where he was able to deliver some dangerous crosses. The 29-year-old set up chances for Thomas Hinum, whose effort was deflected out of play, and Nuhiu, who spiked his header into the ground and over despite having a terrific chance to score.
The perseverance shown by the Austrian club eventually paid off when Hofmann fired in yet another cross and the merest of touches by Nuhiu was enough to put the ball past the diving Guzan and into the visitors’ net.
Struggling to hang on
By this stage, Villa looked nervous as they struggled to hang on to the ball and complete any passing moves. Target man Heskey also failed to keep possession and bring others to play as the hosts continued to stamp their influence on the match.
Guzan was called into action on several occasions to stop Rapid from taking the lead in the tie. He first caught Hofmann’s free-kick from 22 yards out and then, in the second half, had to stretch to tip Veli Kavlak’s strike wide. Villa had seemed to be content with a draw and the crucial away goal but Guzan again had to be alert when he saved a shot from Rene Gartler late on.
As long as Villa stop Rapid from scoring in the return leg at Villa Park next week, the club will progress into the group stage of the competition.
After the match, MacDonald told reporters that: "It's not an easy place to come and it's a decent result. I am very proud. It's an education to come to a place like this where it's very volatile. The intensity of the fans was tremendous from their point of view so to play in patches the way we did was testament to the young players and the senior players."
Tags: