Aston Villa 2, Stoke City 2: Bill Howell's big match verdict

Mar 2 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

‘‘Stoke were sitting in there. We have to face that.

“We had to try and find ways around it and we were terrific. Some of the movement was excellent.

“We started sloppily in the second half and for the first time ever there might have been an air of over-confidence.

“We never got into a rhythm for a while in the second half. I think Stoke might have taken a bit of heart from that, although they still didn’t press us.”