Conceding/Scoring the first goal.

[SoccerHQ]

Anyone got a spare five minutes...get the stats up for this season.

It shows a huge disparity between us winning/drawing when we score the first goal and us losing when we don't.

In 20 years of supporting I've never known a Villa team so fragile and so dependant on scoring first to get a result from the game.

We showed more fight at prem level, it's ridiculous.

No chance of promotion unless we sort that out next season.

[wittonwarrior]

Most teams struggle going one nil down 2nd half

[SoccerHQ]

Most teams struggle going one nil down 2nd half

We hardly ever seem to pick up even a point though.

[PeterWithesShin]

By my reckoning

Under RDM
If we scored first we were W1 D3 L1
if they scored first we were W0 D2 L2

Under SB
If we score first W9 D4 L1
if they score first W1 D1 L9

For a total of
We score W10 D7 L2
they score W1 D3 L11
Plus there's been two 0-0 games.

[SoccerHQ]

Most teams struggle going one nil down 2nd half

Have a look at some of the Reading/Huddersfield comebacks when they've been a goal down with 20 minutes left.

That's why they're both comfortably in the top 6 and our season is over.

[LukeJames]

Its not even the fact that we can't get back into it, its the fact that we look as if we aren't even trying, our confidence, mentality or whatever the fuck you want to call it is so brittle.

We don't even attempt to throw the washing up liquid, let alone even think about going near the kitchen sink.

[Ads]

Not sure if you've watched the game, not even trying? Utter nonsense.

[LukeJames]

Naaaa you're right, I've imagined the Sheffield Wednesday, Bristol City, Luton, Norwich, Wolves, Cardiff, Spurs, Brentford, Ipswich, Leeds, Newcastle and Preston performances.

[Ads]

Tonight we put in a lot of effort and smothered their press and stopped them playing football. The game had few chances in it, they're no mugs for sure, but what was created came from us.

[QuintonVilla]

The thing for me is that once we go a goal down I don't even think for a minute that we'll get back into it. We don't even look like scoring once we go 1-0 down. That's the trouble with playing negative football and hoping to nick a 1-0, if you concede your game plan is out of the window. McLeish was the same, go 1-0 down and he didn't have a plan B. I don't think Bruce has got a plan B either, and his plan A is basic, negative stuff to begin with. He's also got what I like to call Martin O'Neill syndrome, he hates making subs and when he does it's the wrong one with 5 minutes left.

[LukeJames]

Thats not being disputed anywhere, the point is that we don't look like getting back into games when we go behind.

[Des Little]

I think I'm right in saying that every time we've conceded first away from home this season we've lost the game without scoring?

[PeterWithesShin]

I think I'm right in saying that every time we've conceded first away from home this season we've lost the game without scoring?

Yep, just checked. That's piss poor.

Stats if we concede the first goal away from home
W0 D0 L9 GF0

And it's 10 if you include Spurs.

[Clampy]

We created enough chances in the first half to have gone in a couple of goals up but we maybe don't create enough over the course of the game. To say we don't even try though is ridiculous.

[AVH87]

Not even sure this is something that will improve next season under Bruce. It's a mentality thing for me, and if he hasn't managed to improve it in nearly 6 months, I'm not sure why he will in the next 6. The way he plays means that if we concede, because our mentality was cautious to start with, we struggle to change even though we need to.