English Premier League – Half time review: Aston Villa versus West Bromwich Albion
The match began with West Bromwich Albion on the front foot as they almost took the lead within the first two minutes of the match. West Brom surprised Villa as they adopted an attacking strategy and surged forward in attempts to catch
the home side unprepared.
In the 2nd minute of the match, West Brom were awarded their first corner of the match, which fell to Collins, the Villa defender failed to effectively clear his lines as the opposing players screamed for an hand
ball. However, the referee waved away their protests as the ball fell to Somen Tchoyi. The African midfielder let loose a brilliant shot but unfortunately that shot fell straight to Brad Friedel; who held onto the effort. This early chance was a wakeup call
for Villa who were knocked back into their senses through Freidel’s save.
On the other hand, it was a confidence building move for West Bromwich Albion who got more ambitious as the first half went on. In the 21st minute of the match, it was Tchoyi again for West Bromwich Albion; the
winger cut inside his marked man from the right hand side of midfield and then unleashed a brilliant shot. Unfortunately for the man who scored two goals against Newcastle United in West Bromwich’s last match, the shot was deflected off the underside of the
bar and Villa survived another scare within the first 20 minutes of the match.
In the 25th minute of the match, the home side came back into the encounter with a brilliant move. It was Marc Albrighton who surged down the right hand side for Villa. The young Englishman crossed the ball into
the West Bromwich penalty area with the Baggies defence all over the place; Stewart Downing sneaked in on the far post and tapped the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to Aston Villa. It was a well executed move by the home side, who took the lead
against the run of play.
However, Villa gained confidence from the goal and almost added another one in the 36th minute of the match. It was Emile Heskey who gathered in a fast paced through ball inside the West Bromwich penalty area. The
English striker worked space for himself but his eventual shot was blocked by a swarm of West Brom’s defenders and the ball went out of play for an Aston Villa corner kick. The ensuing set piece was a disappointing one for the home side as they surrendered
possession to the Baggies.
Stewart Downing's well-taken goal gave Villa a 1-0 half-time lead, but West Brom looked consistently dangerous throughout the first half. The half time thus came to an end with Villa leading by one goal to nil.
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