Fantastic second half. Thought subbing Son straight after his best spell in the game was risky but he could see they were struggling on that side and wanted fresh legs on to keep the pressure on. Great decision tbh. Thought Johnson started well and our best moves came down his wing in the first. He was excellent in the second half. They simply couldn't cope with his movement. Sarr, Bentencur and Kuluchevski were good. The defence was decent apart from the goal...especially Dragusin. Interesting that (in second half) Johnson and Dragusin refused to let a defender anywhere near the keeper. Davies was his usual reliable self. Thought Solanke, in the 2nd half bullied them. Lovely to see the crowd not get frustrated when we didn't quite click in the first half. Highlight for me was Cash going off injured. Hope the cheating thug is out for ages. Ref was appalling. Villa's time wasting was shocking and should never have been rewarded with 10 mins added time. Coys
A great second half! Spurs showed some grit and determination and perhaps are now showing some nous on how to break down the teams that are happy to sit back on a 1-0. Today was a big result as Aston Villa is a team that’s difficult to beat, as evident in the first half.
Incredibly frustrating first half and even the start to the 2nd, barring the equaliser. Villa's spoiling tactics, diving and timewasting all went unpunished and were actually rewarded, while we huffed and puffed. They tried to kill the momentum and atmosphere when we levelled it up, then got blown away after we took the lead. Sarr was outstanding and the workrate of some of our other players was immense. Solanke never stopped running and fully deserved his goals, despite not getting that much service. No idea what formation we ended up playing, but it was great to see Maddison come on and give 100% after being left out. I wouldn't say that he's been dropped exactly, it's just a tactical switch and we can't have him and Kulusevksi starting against most teams. Most of the squad will get plenty of opportunities to play, though. I hope they all approach them as positively. **** Martinez, Twatty Trash and Good Ebening, the negative, anti-entertainment vampire. Thoroughly enjoyed the "Are you West Ham in disguise?" chant at the end, too!
Just looking at next weekends fixtures, and what that could mean for us. if results go our way, we could be 3rd by the end of next weekend. Which seems mad. Forest play Newcastle, which could end up being a toon army win. Villa are away at Liverpool, which is likely to be a villa defeat. Arsenal are away at Chelsea. If they draw and both drop points…. But this actually requires us to beat Ipswich. No doubt we’ll go all spursy and undo our efforts today!
He had a shaky start to the season, but Pape Sarr is now quietly becoming one of our most important players. To keep Maddison out of the team at the age of 22 is no small feat. He has always had great energy and tenacity, but what I think we're seeing visibly improving game by game is his reading and anticipation of play. This is allowing him to switch roles from reactive DM to proactive CM with ease.
Very little, other than the Spurs PL campaign is currently so fragile the Ipswich game must not be a loss.
Indeed - I questioned what he bought to the team earlier in the season, today it was clear for all to see, he was terrific.
