Well, that was a bit frustrating for anyone of a Villa persuasion, wasn’t it? Dean Smith’s Aston Villa had all the chances, but were ultimately unable to provide the finish that would have gained the Villans another three points to add to their tally.
Aston Villa were forced into a few changes going into kick-off at Villa Park, with Marvelous Nakamba coming in for Douglas Luiz, who was sent off against Wolves, and Elmohamady coming in for summer signing, Matty Cash, who received his fifth booking at Molineux. Ezri Konsa missed out on this encounter due to an illness. Sean Dyche’s Burnley remained unchanged from their win over Arsenal.
Here are the line-ups in full…
Aston Villa XI:
Burnley XI:
Aston Villa were on the front foot from the whistle in the first half. The first ten minutes or so provided a few chances that fell to either side, with Villa’s first chance coming from Bertrand Traore, who saw his shot fly over Pope’s crossbar. This was the only real chance that either side created until Anwar El Ghazi managed to get a ball through to the feet of Traore, who could only place his weak shot into the gloves of the goalkeeper from close range. Emiliano Martinez then made an excellent save to deny Chris Wood in Burnley’s best chance to strike the first blow of the contest.
Villa’s next chance came from a deflected shot from Elmohamady, which was held by Pope and the score remained level – parity was maintained. The next golden opportunity for the Villans came after Jack Grealish was fouled by Ben Mee. The resulting free-kick, taken by El Ghazi, was palmed away by the Burnley goalkeeper and the Dutchman was unlucky to not put his side ahead. Burnley’s next opportunity came from ex-Villa midfielder Westwood, who saw his curling effort from the corner of the area fly past Martinez’s far post and out – still 0-0. Kortney Hause then had a great chance to put his team ahead, but he couldn’t direct his header into the back of Pope’s net and he instead saw his effort hit the post. Both sides were battling for the breakthrough in the contest with Villa dominating in the number of chances and possession, and would have probably felt aggrieved not to be ahead in the match.
Alas, the first half ended in a stalemate with Villa’s dominance ending in unconverted chances. Burnley had limited chances in the game, but they also had a great chance to go ahead in the contest through Wood’s header.
The second half started in a similar vein with Villa the dominant holders of the ball and shot-takers. Villa had a few early chances in the last 45 minutes through Traore, El Ghazi and Watkins, who saw their efforts fail to find what would almost definitely have been a deserved breakthrough for Dean Smith’s team. For the final next twenty minutes of the contest, neither side really created too many opportunities of note and it was now looking increasingly likely that this game was going to end in a draw.
Villa’s next great chance came from Tyrone Mings, who saw his header wide following a cross from Elmohamady. This was by far the best chance of the half for either side and this effort should almost definitely have resulted in the opening goal of the game and the winner.The game somehow ended 0-0, meaning one point for each side and Villa’s first draw of the season.
This result keeps the Villa in eleventh on nineteen points, but with two games in hand. Dean Smith and his Villa team will be frustrated with the outcome given their 27 shots with no reward. Of course, a point is better than none, and Villa once again looked solid in defence despite two changes to the back line. With Villa prolific overall this season, there is certainly still optimism for everyone of a Villa persuasion. It was poor finishing and bad luck that prevented Villa from collecting another win.
UTV Podcast :
Player Reaction:
The Boss:
Facebook and Twitter readers, click the respective icon below to follow our utvpodcast social media accounts.
Subscribe to utvpodcast.co.uk to receive instant notifications on all podcast and blog releases.
Help us grow and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
