Martin O’Neill silences Aston Villa boo-boys after win over Liverpool
Aug 25 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
MARTIN O’Neill celebrated Villa’s amazing record-ending victory at Anfield – before rounding on the prophets of doom for writing off his team so early in the season.
Last night’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool was Rafa Benitez’s team’s first Premier League defeat at home in 32 games with the run dating back to December 2007.
O’Neill suggested that Villa were inspired by painful memories of last season’s visit to Anfield when they suffered a demoralising 5-0 defeat back in March.
“I thought we played really well indeed,” said O’Neill. “I thought we were excellent. It’s a tough place to come.
“I don’t know whether the lads had any thoughts in their heads about the last time we played, but there was a great determination about the team.
“They were really well focused and ready to go. We were fresher and fitter than we were a week ago and we were just excellent.” O’Neill hopes Villa’s first victory at Anfield for almost eight years will silence the boo-boys who jeered Villa halfway through the opening day defeat to Wigan.
“Last week we got booed off at the end of the game and that’s fine because we got beaten in the match, but we also got booed off at half-time,” he said.
“We’d only played 45 minutes competitively, after we finished sixth and qualified for Europe, so maybe we’ll just have a little look at that.
“I was disconcerted myself with it.
