View from the South – Aston Villa vs Birmingham City

Here is Baz’s take with a view from the arm chair rather than his usual view!

I couldn’t get a ticket for this encounter but as it panned out that was probably no bad thing. I managed to stream the game over the ether however and got a reasonable watch albeit a little jerky with English commentary.

Will was going to come over and join me but he had visitors for lunch so he had to cry off at the last minute. That did not stop him adding his two penn’orth however when he called just before kick off to complain about the team line up being 4-5-1 again. I felt that it wasn’t a bad call in a derby where Villa were likely to start quickly. The last thing we wanted was to go too open from the outset and find ourselves 2-0 behind in the first 15 minutes. The thing is that Vile surprisingly matched our formation which was always going to make for a tight congested game.

The home team did indeed start quickly and Heskey nearly got onto a brisk through pass from Ashley Young that the slightest touch from the big man would have resulted in a sure score. Fortunately Foster claimed the ball comfortably as there was no deviation in the pass. The only other moment of danger in the first half for Blues was following a poor back pass towards Foster that the keeper had to clear quickly. Good charging down by Reo-Coker resulted in a ricochet. The screen froze at this point and I held my breath as I waited for the streaming to kick back in. I half expected the ball to be nestling in the net when it did as it is just the sort of daft goal that we concede in such situations. Fortunately, the block was well wide and the danger had passed. Blues started to take control after Villa’s initial flurry with Barry Ferguson excellent as ever.

Blues pushed up more with the home side only offering one striker up front. Seb Larsson also stood out in the wide areas. Hleb was OK but wasn’t able to influence things as he would no doubt have liked because of the congested nature of the game.

Gardner was booked after only 12 minutes for a robust challenge on Reo-Coker to which the Villa player reacted angrily setting the tone for his attitude throughout the rest of the game. Gardner was rightly booked but there was a case for the Villa midfielder to join him in the book but Mr Webb decided to be lenient. Gardner was involved in another piece of early action when his fierce goal bound shot was well blocked by Collins. Fahey had a shot fielded by Brad Friedel and later brought a cross from Larsson under control to swivel and hit another strike straight at the keeper from about 10 yards.

The major controversy of the first half came on 38 minutes when Reo-Coker appeared to control the ball with his arm as it drifted across his midriff. I have to confess that the image quality was really good enough for me to make a judgement but opinion seems subsequently to be divided with several pundits suggesting it was a definite hand ball and therefore an award should have been given. Will asked me if I thought it was at half time and I said probably not but one thing is for sure; it wasn’t a penalty because Mr Webb didn’t give it!

Zigic went in the book a minute later after he caught Collins when leading with his arm. I thought this looked a naughty challenge and the big Serb can count himself lucky he was given the benefit of the doubt. I am from the school that believes top professional footballers know exactly what they are doing and had Mr Webb had the angle of view behind the incident he may well have taken a less sympathetic stance. Friedel had to be alert to gather a low 25 yard drive from Gardner which gathered pace as it zipped off the surface. The half ended with Blues overall the better side apart from the first 15 minutes or so.

The second half was better but the play remained attritional. Villa had obviously had a bit of hairdryer treatment over the half time cuppa and were more purposeful in their work without necessarily pulling up trees. Reo-Coker had a good shot saved on 56 minutes, the first meaningful action for Foster to be honest. Barry Bannan came on for the ineffective Sidwell just after and he added some energy to what had thus far been a disappointing display from the home side.

Collins made another good block at full stretch to deny Gardner but an equally crucial intervention by Roger Johnson prevented Heskey getting a shot off at the other end. Reo-Coker left his foot in on the Blues centre-half and was very lucky I felt not to join those already in the book. The Villa captain was clearly wound up and still upset by Gardner’s challenge on him in the first half and took revenge on him half way through the second period. He clearly kicked out at the Blues man slamming a size 10 into Gardner’s behind. This was reminiscent of Nasri’s assault on Ridgewell at the Emirates. The result was the same; a yellow card.

I think I’m beginning to get the hang of this; if you kick a bloke standing up and he goes down like a sack of spuds, it’s a red card. If, however, you kick a bloke when he’s lying on the floor it’s a yellow! (Well it seems to be the case if you are a Birmingham player. :-P)

Blues defender Scott Dann was booked for bringing down Clark who to my mind was one of the home side’s best performers.

Foster parried away a Bannan drive after good play by Heskey but Villa’s best chance was just before the end when Clark headed just wide after substitute John Carew had turned the ball back across the box and he needed treatment after being caught by Foster. This was close but by far the best chance of the game was in the 72nd minute. Jerome had just come on for Hleb as Blues went 4-4-2 in an attempt to win the game. Using his pace, he out-muscled Stephen Warnock and drove into the area down the right flank. The picture froze and I could see Zigic coming in to the box, all on his own, with Collins drawn to the ball. I was yelling at the screen ‘GIVE IT TO HIM! GIVE IT TO HIM! IT’S A TAP IN!’ The streaming came in and Jerome crossed the ball straight into the grateful arms of Brad Friedel; NUMPTY!

There was the game; right there. It was not a difficult pass, he just delayed too long and the chance was gone. Further chances were to follow in time added on. Ashley Young clipped the outside of a post with a rising drive but Zigic could have won the game when his glancing header from Larsson’s free-kick was agonisingly wide with the superb Friedel for once totally beaten.

On balance, it was not the greatest game I’ve ever watched but overall I thought Blues edged it in terms of performance. There was plenty of possession for both sides but the ball was conceded too cheaply at critical times by both teams. Neither side did enough to win in my opinion but I think Alex McLeish has to be the happier of the two managers. I understand that some of our neighbours had bought commemorative shirts to celebrate an assumed run of seven wins on the trot against us. Never mind eh? You can always dress up a Guy for your bonfire next week!  😀

The Good: The fact that we gained a valuable point and stopped the run of defeats. Blues edged this game without being totally dominant.

The Bad: The violent challenges by Zigic on Collins and Reo-Coker on Gardner both of which deserved greater sanction. Both players were lucky to stay on the pitch.

The Ugly: Those in the Holte End – they always are! 😀

KRO SOTV

Aston Villa
Friedel 7; Luke Young 7, Dunne 7, Collins 7, Warnock 7; Clark 8  Sidwell 6; (Bannan 58, 7), Reo-Coker 7, (Carew 82, 6)Downing 6 Ashley Young 7, Heskey 7

Birmingham City
Foster 7; Carr 7, Johnson 6, Dann 7, Ridgewell 7; Larsson 7, Ferguson 8, Hleb 6 (Jerome 71, 6) Fahey 7, Gardner 7, Zigic 6