Aston Villa lose at home to Tottenham Hotspur
Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were to play out the day’s most highly anticipated clash, where there was a clash of similarities. Tottenham and Aston Villa play similar styles of football, counter attacking football at pace with magnificent wing play.
Tottenham have fallen off the pace at the top in recent times and really needed a boost, a win that would keep them within reach of closest placed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786. Aston Villa are locked fiercely in the second half of the table, a position where they do not belong
and it is high time they realize their potential and rise to the occasion.
Harry Redknapp had the talents of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Stewart-Downing-c34221 and Mark Albrighton. Mark Albrighton has really been a revelation this season, a relative unknown at the beginning
of the season; he has grown into his own, become a fan favourite and solidified his position in the starting eleven. He is a player blessed with quick feet and a wicked right foot that delivers inch perfect crosses, definitely a star in the making.
Other than that Aston Villa were still without star man http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Young-c6813 as Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emilie Heskey returned to the starting line up. Tottenham welcomed back the mercurial Rafael Van Der Vaart to the team and he started behind Jermaine Defoe who
played the lone striker.
Aston Villa started the match brightly as they created a few good chances. In the first minute, Collins nodded down a free kick and Albrighton mishit his shot as Gomes parried it away, Albrighton looked to collect the rebound but Bale dove in to block his
shot. There were good chances for both http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gabriel-Agbonlahor-c14288 and Jermaine Defoe in the opening stages, but both the goalkeepers were on song to prevent their team from going behind.
Then in the 23rd minute, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-Hutton-c4253 gathered the pass and drove a low cross in, Collins was there but the cross was behind him
and Van Der Vaart ghosted in behind him to finish past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brad-Friedel-c7953. 1-0 to Tottenham, and again it was Van Der Vaart, who scored a brace in the reverse fixture in the beginning of the season.
In the 26th minute, Jermaine Defoe went flying in to win a long ball, but his elbow was dangerously high and connected forcefully with Collin’s face. There were no questions in referee Martin Atkinson’s mind as he brandished the red card and gave
Defoe his marching orders. Now, Tottenham had to hold onto this with 10 men. Villa though finished the half the stronger of the two sides but couldn’t see their efforts manifest in a goal.
The second half started as the first ended, with Villa chasing the game with all they had. But they were caught out for Tottenham’s second goal on 67 minutes, when after a Villa corner the ball broke to Van Der Vaart, he flicked it on to Bale who latched
onto it, evaded a tackle from Collins, sprinted 50 yards, cut inside and passed to Lennon. Lennon in turn found Van Der Vaart on the edge of the box who side footed the ball home to get his second on the night.
Now, the fight looked beyond Villa but they still probed. They did manage to get one back when Mark Albrighton’s teasing ball in proved elusive to Collins diving header and went straight into the goal on 82 minutes. Now Villa believed they had a chance and
pushed on for an equalizer. Agbonlahor had another opportunity when the ball broke to him right in front of Gomes, but the Englishman could not get the ball out of his feet. Then late into extra time, Albrighton played the ball over the top of the defence
and Lichaj pounced onto it, he drove forward but the right back could only find the side netting.
It was not to be for Aston Villa who slumped to another defeat under http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Houllier, all does not look too bright under his watch but the performance by his players was encouraging. Tottenham though defended valiantly to protect the three points after they
were reduced to 10 men, and Redknapp will be proud that he got the performance and the result out of his men.
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