Aston Villa vs Sunderland Post-Match Thread

[ez]

At what point did you start relaxing. Not until 4-1 for me.

[Greg N'Ash]

Also in the heat of the moment I went mad at our defence but Sunderland's goal was superb. I don't think the defence could do too much.

was gonna post the same. It wasn't a fuck-up by the defence but a good goal

[geeeenius1971]

could someone pinch me and make sure im not dreaming  6 bloody 1 get in UTV

[PaulWinch again]

The significant thing was them equalising so soon. We'd have folded at home a few months back because of the kids. Growing up fast i reckon.

I think that's it, they've grown up and gained character quick. Still work to do, probably 4 points but we can do it.

I reckon we only need 3, Wigan aren't going to get another eight.

Just would like to not lose to Wigan to make sure!

[saunders_heroes]

Well that was FUCKIN AMAZING! Brilliant!!

[Lizz]

PDC on SSN right now, not sure what the hell he's on about.

[manic-road]

Just awesome, I have been cacking it all day in case we didn't  get the result we needed. But Lowton was exceptional along with the rest of the team.
Benteke is a beast and all three strikers look like scoring at the moment.

If we stay up and strengthen the central defence during the summer we are looking good for the future.

[ozzjim]

Also in the heat of the moment I went mad at our defence but Sunderland's goal was superb. I don't think the defence could do too much.

was gonna post the same. It wasn't a fuck-up by the defence but a good goal

Westwood and Sylla were more culpable than Vlaar, but Baker was way out of position.

DiCanio claims he saw it coming in the week from the players. Twunt.

[PaulWinch again]

PDC on SSN right now, not sure what the hell he's on about.

Agreed utter confusing nonsense.

[eastie]

Wonderful night to be a villa fan- fabulous performance , all 11 players deserve the plaudits but sylla impressed me very much tonight as did several others.
Enjoy this feeling - it's a great one!

[Dave]

I'm 500 posts into the readytogo.net match thread. About 1700 posts to go and it's 1-1.

Looking forward to what's coming next.

[paul_e]

The significant thing was them equalising so soon. We'd have folded at home a few months back because of the kids. Growing up fast i reckon.

I think that's it, they've grown up and gained character quick. Still work to do, probably 4 points but we can do it.

Indeed, instead of buying experience  we've let them earn it together and it's starting to show, Sunderland were poor tonight, that's undeniable, but we were excellent in midfield and up front, and had 2 fullbacks playing the roll we want from them almost faultlessly.

I really hope we can grow from this, there's a lot of potential in this team and I'd love to see them stick together and see just how far we can go.

[PaulWinch again]

Also in the heat of the moment I went mad at our defence but Sunderland's goal was superb. I don't think the defence could do too much.

was gonna post the same. It wasn't a fuck-up by the defence but a good goal

Westwood and Sylla were more culpable than Vlaar, but Baker was way out of position.

DiCanio claims he saw it coming in the week from the players. Twunt.

Baker was the only real disappointment of the night for me. He was all over the place.

[Greg N'Ash]

Goal difference Saturday 3pm versus Monday 10pm:

Norwich -20/ -21
Sunderland -7/ -12
Newcastle -17/ -23
Villa -27/ -22

It doesn't often get better than that.

heh. Absolutely mental how its played out, especially on Newcastle.

[brontebilly]

my ratings for what its worth

guzan 6 - no fault with goal. maybe got a touch lucky with graham's challenge, shouldnt be dropping the ball no matter who runs into you
lowton 9 - our best player by far in the first half, superb assist for weimann's goal. excellent on the ball throughout and defended much better than usual
vlaar 6 - great goal but some of his defending was comedy club esque. we need a new centre half badly in the summer
baker 6 - solid enough but gave away a couple of unnecessary freekicks as per usual
bennett 7 - struggled with johnson a bit in the first half when he came on to his left. was also johnson's delivery early in the second half that caused problems. but much more confident on the ball now and a far better player than a few months back
Sylla 7 - struggled in the first half to get involved but much better in the second half where he was on the ball a lot
Westwood 7 - didnt think he dominated as much until Sunderland went down to 10 men. Great delivery for Benteke's header and a solid nights work
Delph 8 - struggled a little early on but seemed to move a bit more infield as the game went on and it suited him better. Involved in a lot of our counterattacks in the second half with the ability to go past a player a big bonus
Weimann 8 - brilliant finish for his goal and improved hugely from that point on. very much a threat with one cleared off the line. Great season for him.
Benteke 9 - thought he was shite in the first half though did put Gabby through for the chance early on. Unplayable in the second, Drogba esque man mountain. Finished Carlos Cuellar at this level in the process. What a signing he has been
Gabby 8 - deserved his goal for all the effort. Involved in most of our best play and didnt let the miss in the first half get to him

Sunderland are far from out of the relegation scrap either. Johnson eventually faded out of the game but caused us problems. Rose was decent at left back with a fine goal. Apart from that to a man they were utterly pathetic. Bardsley, Cuellar, O'Shea, Larsson, Graham, their keeper was atrocious, Gardner. Sessegnon out for the last 3 games. Such a lack of technical ability in that side, now that the new manager bubble has been well and truly popped, they will do well to stay up. Stoke and Southampton up next for them are favourable fixtures but wouldnt be a surprise to see them lose both.

Norwich away is the perfect next fixture for us. They look well and truly out of ideas at the moment and we will be absolutely buzzing after that win.