Post
by Bluemike » Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:31 am
I'm proud of the boys this morning, each and every one of them. As Shed rightly says, that is all we ever ask of them, to show true commitment, some passion and to lay everything on the line for the club, every single one of them did that in abundance yesterday at Villa Park. With Cole Skuse failing to overcome his injury it was the same team that by and large played the majority of the match against Reading with Grant Ward again stepping into the Midfield space vacated by Skusey.
There was barely 15 seconds on the clock when Villa can count themselves fortunate not to be down to 10 men as Hourihane plants his elbow into the head of Emyr Huws. It was Villa that started the game sharper and Twice in the opening few minutes Bart had to pull off good saves to keep it level and then a few minutes later they rattled the bar much to the relief of the Town players & fans. Things seemed to be going from bad to worse as Steven Taylor limped off holding his leg, meaning Knudsen was swithced to one of the Three man CB line and Myles Kenlock on at Left Wing Back. It was Villa who still looked the most likely although Town were having a few forays forward of their own with McGoldrick & Emmanuel the Two players standing out most for Town. Unlike the Reading game we had not been winning the Midfield and Diagouraga, Huws and Ward had often been second best to the loose balls and being beaten to the tackles. As the half neared its end Didsy had a couple of efforts that failed to trouble the keeper and then worse was to come for Town as we lost another CB, this time Berra being forced off following another arm into the face, Spence this time taking his place in a very makeshift Three at the back. While Villa had probably had the better of the half aside from the Two early saves by Bart and the one that hit the bar they hadn't troubled us too much after that.
All the HT talk was about how on earth we were going to see the second 45 through with such a makeshift back line, in effect we had no less than Five Fullbacks on the field and I think to a man every Town fan would have snatched your hand off for a point even before we kicked off again. What followed made me feel proud to be a Town fan again. Surprisingly it was Town who came out of the blocks and looked to take the game to Villa, suddenly it looked like it was Town winning the Midfield, snapping into tackles, closing down, making runs down the wings, Ward suddenly looked to be popping up everywhere, our winger was lookin more like a midfield playmaker, dictating the play and picking his passes with aplomb. Huws was starting to see much more of the ball while Diagouraga was the one sitting deep offering protection to the back line.
Following a long range Huws shot that deflected for a corner Spence somehow contrived to scoop the ball over the bar from about Five yards when he should have buried the ball into the gaping goal, such a chance missed to go ahead. Town continued to look the better side and Didsy saw a header go high over the bar. Town's thrown together defence was actually standing up very well to anything Villa could throw at it, Spence in particular was doing very well and showed like Webster he can play the ball out with his feet as opposed to hoofing it, Knudsen too to his credit was doing everything asked of him most of the time although he has a tendancy to stand off at times and not close down quickly enough.
As the game entered the final quarter the expected surge by Villa started to come, Adomah had come on and was causing a few problems, while Lansbury was becoming more influential the longer it went on, but still Town stood firm. As we entered the final 10 Minutes Didsy came to the rescue to clear one off the line, this was really the first time we had looked in real danger of conceding in the second half. It was to prove a crucial moment as a minute or so later Town incredibly took the lead, following a good advantage by the ref McGoldrick surged forward, reached the byline and sent in a super little cross, roaring in was Huws to rifle the ball home, oh the joy and ecstacy as the net rippled right in front of us, it is moments like this that make it all worthwhile, another Richard Chaplow moment from Watford a couple of seasons back, the celebrations were quite something to behold as the previously mouthy Villa fans stood silent as we staged our own party.
Of course with Town we are never safe and last few minutes had to be seen out, it felt like an eternity as did the extra Four minutes, it felt like Villa had corner after corner after corner but still our boys stood firm. The celebrations at the final whistle were incredible, our makeshift bunch of misfits, loanees, freebies and has beens had seen off the mega spending Midlanders and deservedly so, Hogan & Kodija cost what 26 Million between them ?? You can keep them. The Chambo fist pump was like it used to be, he meant it and it mattered, we were treated to Three of them as all the players came over to join the party, great scenes and a fantastic feeling. To a man they did us proud and worked their arses off.
Bart (8) Berra (6) Taylor (-) Chambers (8) Emmanuel (7) Knudsen (7) Lawrence (6) Ward (8) Huws (7) Diagouraga (7) McGoldrick (7)
SUBS :- Spence (8) Kenlock (7) Bru (6)
Against Reading and yesterday we have seen a different Town, far more hope for the future, players wanting to express themselves and looking for the ball instead of hiding, standing up and putting in a shift and being prepared to get hurt, that is all we ask, it is all we have ever asked. There is no doubt the new arrivals have lit the place up, Huws & Diagouraga again did so well yesterday, more so in the second half, Didsy is like the player we know he can be. Spence really impressed me yesterday too, so versatile. Grant Ward has not escaped my criticism lately but for me he edged MOTM in a CM role, he rose to the occasion. The Two young wing backs Emmanuel & Kenlock are coming on leaps and bounds too. I would not like to ignore the fantastic captains role Chambo produced yesterday, as the defence was depleted he stood firm and put in a hell of a shift as the senior CB, he was all over the place and marshelled the stand in's superbly, well done skipper. This Seven game run of unwinnable fixtures doesn't look so bad right now, just a shame we could not get the wins against Preston & Reading that we probably should have got. Bring on the Brighton. COYB'S.
Last edited by
Bluemike on Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:40 am, edited 2 times in total.
