We'd started okay going forward, without really creating any chances. But after Davies' howler, we were up against it, as Villa seemed content to soak up our pressure and hit us on the break. I thought it was a penalty in normal time, but when I saw a replay on nezbfc's phone at half time, it looked like Jackson had played the ball. Unfortunately, we never looked like getting back into the game in the second half and in the end, I don't think we could claim we deserved to get anything out of the match. However, I still have faith in this group of lads and, as the season progresses, I believe there'll be gradual improvement from them individually and as a team. Great to see all the old players before the game.
We'll hopefully learn a lot from that type of defeat. Heads never seemed to drop which was fantastic to see. Yiadom, Cavare, Fryers, McDonald, McGeehan, Gardner and Isgrove to challenge first team players could make a big difference too.
I share your sentiments JLWBL. We'll be fine. I think the scoreline flattered them. Chin up ready for Tuesday xx
Ya didn't see Les Lea though did ya Kev cos he was sat in front of me as per usual. He told me that he was invited, but he was meeting a friend who didn't know the way. I didn't hear the rest cos of the noise in the stand.
Terribly poor performance I thought but we are a young inexperienced team it's only to be expected upon occasion
It was sad not to see him, but it's brilliant to know he still regularly watches the team. Also, it's a bonus to hear that a hero from my past seems to be such a lovely bloke.
We'll certainly improve as the season goes on, villa played us like a fiddle yesterday hitting us on the break. I think davies is allowed that mistake he's a fantastic keeper for us in general. There's big players to come back into this team but I certainly felt yesterday that they weren't too far from gelling. Lots of great play just poor end product
As I saw it simply: we didn't play as crisply as we have going forward. End product was poor almost all game. Credit to Villa, they came and defended very well: pressed high and forced us to play long-ball which would never work as they knew. They were also very compact and didn't let us pass as well as we did against Derby and Sunderland. Then when we give away 3 silly goals we made it impossible for ourselves. Things went their way, and when Ugbo missed two great chances in the 2nd half that showed it wouldn't be our day. They deserved to win overall, but 3-0 flattered them; 1 goal in it would have been fairer. With a new team and players stepping up, there are bound to be inconsistent performances, so hopefully the next good one isn't far away. I've seen plenty from us that has been brilliant at times to suggest we'll do quite well this season, and after 3 good results against Sunderland, Preston and Derby, hopefully we can get another good result soon.
