Philadelphia Union v Aston Villa Match Thread

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Like to see N'zog come on second half and (hopefully) get a bit of confidence.  I think he'll have a big part to play this season.

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...and answered, CNZ for Ireland.

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Mat Kendrick ‏@MatKendrick
Sloppy start from Charles N'Zogbia who has given the ball away cheaply on a couple of occasions

Doesn't exactly fill me with optimism.

[villastikz]

Dunne comes on and within minutes he's gifted them an attacking opportunity

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All over and another win.  Sounds like another reasonable run-out.

[villastikz]

2 games, 2 wins - great start to pre-season

[Toronto Villa]

Reporting in from the game here in Philadelphia. We should have been way clear in the first half. Careless finishing but the moves were good. We kept possession well overall and Bannan was the best of the midfielders out there. Lowton was adventurous and Clark looked very composed. Second half, N'Zog was just poor only to be trumped by Dunne who looked scarily shit. Nathan Baker looked composed and Lichaj was solid. Disappointed with Karim and Holman tonight. Hoped to see a lot more. Very tidy finish by Fonz.

All in all a decent workout. Have to cut them some slack as it has been murderously hot so that will have taken it out of them. Lots of work to do and we simply have to get quicker in transition and more decisive. We are simply not clinical enough and that needs to change.

[villadelph]

Reporting in from the game here in Philadelphia. We should have been way clear in the first half. Careless finishing but the moves were good. We kept possession well overall and Bannan was the best of the midfielders out there. Lowton was adventurous and Clark looked very composed. Second half, N'Zog was just poor only to be trumped by Dunne who looked scarily shit. Nathan Baker looked composed and Lichaj was solid. Disappointed with Karim and Holman tonight. Hoped to see a lot more. Very tidy finish by Fonz.

All in all a decent workout. Have to cut them some slack as it has been murderously hot so that will have taken it out of them. Lots of work to do and we simply have to get quicker in transition and more decisive. We are simply not clinical enough and that needs to change.

I was also in attendance and I agree with most of what you said with the exception of your input on Holman and Karim. Our first half midfield was miles better than what finished the game. And Brett and Karim were always showing for the ball and moving after they passed.. and they would get back and defend!

 Fonz should have score a few, and Ireland, Bannan, Holman and Lowton were constantly looking for a final through ball which was quite enjoyable. I think we'll really come around this year, and I really liked Matty Lowton in the back. I think he'll really shine this year along with Ciaran Clark.

[Matt Collins]

Grateful for the readouts. What kind of shape did we have in midfield? Was it a diamond or just a narrow 4? It sounded like we passed the ball well in the first half, so surprised to hear that karim and Holman were average. Would love to see Clark cement his place this year, though he's always coasted through this sort of game. It's been games where people have tried to aggressively turn him or dominate him in the air where he's struggled more.

[Hookeysmith]

Already it sounds like that if we rely on Dunne then we are hurtling towards disaster

He is a piss poor mistake just waiting to happen every game

Other than that if i was being super critical Bent has not got in amongst the goals as yet - we need him sharp and finishing from the off

[Matt Collins]

Agree about bent. If he'd been sharper las year it would have set us up to be comfortable for the second half of the season

[ADVILLAFAN]

It was quite exciting reading the match thread this morning. I don't get out much.

[villadelph]

Already it sounds like that if we rely on Dunne then we are hurtling towards disaster

He is a piss poor mistake just waiting to happen every game

Other than that if i was being super critical Bent has not got in amongst the goals as yet - we need him sharp and finishing from the off

Dunney looked slower than usual. Almost hard to achieve but there was an incident about 10 minutes into his substitution where he got beat standing still at the top of the box by a younger player and never had a chance. The unfamiliar people around me were pretty stunned how slow a premiership center back is allowed to be.

[frank]

It sounds as though Bannan's had a good pre-season so far. Perhaps he has a future at Villa after all.

[Chris Smith]

Already it sounds like that if we rely on Dunne then we are hurtling towards disaster

He is a piss poor mistake just waiting to happen every game

Other than that if i was being super critical Bent has not got in amongst the goals as yet - we need him sharp and finishing from the off

Dunney looked slower than usual. Almost hard to achieve but there was an incident about 10 minutes into his substitution where he got beat standing still at the top of the box by a younger player and never had a chance. The unfamiliar people around me were pretty stunned how slow a premiership center back is allowed to be.

Very harsh. It's very early in pre-season and he was given a few days more off due to his involvement in the Euros. Has  he been elected official scapegoat for the coming season?