After a spirited performance in the East Midlands last time out, Aston Villa looked to finally return to winning ways against bottom side Norwich City.
Last Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Leicester was far from glamorous but brought to an end a run of four successive defeats. Whilst Norwich had turned in a couple of improved performances in recent fixtures, their win against Burnley three weeks ago was the only victory for the Canaries since the end of January.
The away side, led by former Villa boss Dean Smith, started the day knowing that a defeat at Villa Park and certain results elsewhere would see their return to the Championship rubber-stamped.
The headline team news from the Villa camp was the full debut of the young midfield general Tim Ireogbunam, whilst Calum Chambers came back in alongside Tyrone Mings at centre back. Lucas Digne was a surprise inclusion, having recovered ahead of schedule from a nasty looking shoulder injury. Douglas Luiz, Ezri Konsa and Ashley Young made way.
The Carrow Road side were forced into a number of changes from their defeat to Newcastle last time out. Christoph Zimmerman was declared injured in the week, whilst tireless Scottish midfielder Kenny McLean dropped out with a knock in the warm-up. Max Aarons was recalled in place of the German defender, whilst Billy Gilmour deputised for his injured countryman. Dimitris Giannoulis was dropped in favour of Manchester United loanee Brandon Williams.
With Villa and manager Steven Gerrard in desperate need of a result, and a performance too, a quick start would have been high on any pre-match instructions. It was far from a scintillating start, but Villa certainly looked most likely to open the scoring. Philippe Coutinho, Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey all went close. The latter effort from the Jamaican forward produced a stunning save from veteran Tim Krul.
But after a bright enough opening from the home side, Norwich began to move the ball quickly as they started to dominate and gain a foothold in the game. On the other hand, Villa began to sit a little deeper as their passing became increasingly wayward.
The Canaries almost capitalised on their good spell but a combination of poor finishing and smart goalkeeping from Emi Martinez kept the score at 0-0. Milot Rashica, after publicly turning down Villa in 2020, would have been an unpopular scorer, but the tricky Kosovan was denied by a strong hand from the Argentinian international. Shortly after, young left back Williams stooped to head over from close range following a dangerous set-piece situation.
The missed opportunities enacted a wake-up call for the Villa, and with Danny Ings now on the pitch, they set about wrestling the initiative back. The forward had replaced Bailey, who once again had shown glimpses of the evidently talented player that Villa signed from Leverkusen but succumbed to yet another injury. This time it was a firm but fair tackle from Williams which brought Bailey’s match to an end prematurely.
Whilst for so long we have all witnessed the difficulties that Ings and Watkins have found in playing together, now the pair look lost when leading the line on their own. It was an instant impact from the former Southampton man, as he sent what is becoming a trademark long raking crossfield pass to his strike partner. Watkins flicked the ball intelligently over Williams, and lashed the ball into the far corner after leaving the loanee floundering in his wake.
A 1-0 lead at the break was perhaps a little harsh on the Norfolk side, who had kept Villa’s key men quiet for much of the half, and offered a threat of their own. The away side had also dominated possession in the first 45, but the difference between the two side’s proved to be the ruthlessness of Watkins and the ingenuity of Ings, something which Norwich would give an arm and a leg for. Whilst Teemu Pukki has been a talisman for the club in recent years, he often struggles with the lack of service provided by those behind him. On Saturday he was well marshalled by Tyrone Mings.
VILLA STORE
Despite leading at the interval, Gerrard would not have been completely satisfied with his players and Villa started the second half in a better vein as they looked to kill the game.
Ings twice went close in a matter of minutes, as a move involving Coutinho culminated in Sam Byram turning the ball over the crossbar to deny the Villa forward. The versatile Norwich man’s intervention was crucial in thwarting what would have been a delightful team goal, with an audacious lofted one-two between Watkins and his strike partner cutting the Canaries wide open. Ings glanced a header off the post from the resulting corner and the impressive Ireogbunam could not convert the rebound. This was a rare moment of panic from the talented youngster, who in his burgeoning career has shown composure in abundance.
Watkins, Coutinho and Ings again went close but the goal that would surely put the game to bed was proving elusive. Just as they had in the first half, Norwich began to grow in confidence and looked to punish Villa for not finishing their chances. It was midfielder Pierre Lees-Melou who should have restored parity but, when teed up by Pukki in a glorious position, he could only roll the ball tamely into the grasp of Martinez. Villa’s game management and ability to control matches for 90 minutes has been sub-standard in this calendar year and once again, the boys in claret and blue looked uncomfortable as their visitors began to sense an opening.
Tim Ireogbunam, Danny Ings and Jacob Ramsey were all booked in quick succession as Villa began to look ever so slightly rocked. Had this been a team with more quality in the final third, then an equaliser would surely have followed. But as it was, the Villa backline held firm and kept Norwich at bay.
As news filtered in from Hertfordshire that Burnley had equalised, and then taken the lead away at Watford, Norwich began to play with real desperation. The result, coupled with their own impending defeat in the West Midlands meant they would be 13 points adrift of safety with only 12 points left to play for.
The anxiety of the grave situation, coupled with the fact that their players had given their absolute all to no avail, left Norwich looking leggy and vulnerable to a second Villa goal. The hosts duly obliged, as Ings swivelled to fire past Krul. Watkins had won the ball back high up the pitch off the unfortunate Brandon Williams, who will want to forget his afternoon in Birmingham, and fed Emi Buendia. The Argentinian, who had replaced an out-of-sorts Philippe Coutinho, rolled in Ramsey. His effort was well kept out by the Dutch goalkeeper, but the ball spun loose to Villa’s number 10. Buendia showed great core strength to hold off skipper Grant Hanley and his touch fell to Ings. The striker reminded the Villa faithful of his undeniably clinical striker’s instinct as he fired home in front of the Holte End.
For Villa, it was a crucial three points as substance was very much on display in the absence of style. When Villa played their football, they looked capable of dismantling their opponents at will, but they had to dig in in the continued absence of a controlled 90 minute performance.
Tim Ireogbunam once again showed why he is so highly rated. He picks up clever positions to halt attacks, covers ground and has no qualms in displaying the often overlooked ability trait of receiving the ball and giving it to the more creative players in advanced positions. He is still a raw talent at this moment in time, but he has all the attributes to breakthrough next season. John McGinn continued his recent return to form with a busy display and the strike partnership looked dangerous in their link-up play and positioning amidst rumours of other teams monitoring their situations closely.
Credit must also be given to Lucas Digne. The French defender has been unlucky with a run of injuries and illness, but recovered quickly to an blow that had threatened to curtail his season and turned in an impressive performance down the left hand side.
Starman Philippe Coutinho continued to epitomise Villa’s inconsistencies of late, as he showed flashes of brilliance on the ball before going missing for large spells. The Brazilian is unbelievably talented and has already been a successful signing with his four goals and three assists, but after an underwhelming run of form in April, Gerrard may opt for Emi Buendia as Villa’s creator-in-chief next time out if, as expected, Watkins and Ings are paired up top. The Argentinian was just beginning to show his capabilities after a difficult start to life in the Second City before finding himself back on the bench. His cameos have been filled with energy, attacking penetration and character and he will feel rightly disappointed if Gerrard continues to provide him with limited game time.
For Dean Smith’s side it was another disappointing day for a club who is all too used to relegation. On Saturday Norwich became the first side to be relegated from the Premier League six times. The poor recruitment, led by unpopular Sporting Director Stuart Webber, saw a weak, inexperienced and unbalanced squad assembled. There are some talented technical players in there and a lot of promising youngsters, but the lack of creativity since Buendia moved on and a defence composed of solid Championship level players left first Daniel Farke and then Dean Smith with an unassailable task. With the former Villa gaffer at the helm, though, and with their penchant for winning games in the second tier, you would fancy that there’s more than a chance we will be seeing Norwich in the Premier League again for the 2023/24 season.
All at Villa will be wishing ‘Deano’ well next season, and the reception he was afforded on Saturday was a testament to the brilliant job he did in restoring pride, passion and preparedness in B6. He is a Villan for life and will always be welcome back at Villa Park.
With five games left for Gerrard’s men and any position between 9th and 15th still a realistic outcome, the gritty point at Leicester and win against Norwich should set up a strong finish to the season. Next up is Burnley at Turf Moor in a tricky away fixture. The Clarets, led by Mike Jackson and Ben Mee, are high on confidence as they have propelled themselves away from the relegation zone and will look to frustrate Villa as they so often do.
But what a change it makes writing this Fan Report after a win, even if it was not a classic! It’s time to kick on and finish the season well!
JOEY MILLINGTON | UTV PODCAST
Author’s UTV PODCAST archive Joey Millington | UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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