Aston Villa 0, Liverpool 1: Mat Kendrick's big match verdict and player ratings
Dec 30 2009 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
HOW appropriate that Villa Park should resemble one of those seasonal snow-storm decorations last night.
Because, no matter how shook up Villa felt after being caught cold by Liverpool, the picture is far from clear for Martin O’Neill’s men.
On the face of it the scene is set for 2010 to be much more prosperous than any of the largely forgettable years which formed the decade of the Noughties.
Villa are about to contest the Carling Cup semi-final and – despite successive setbacks against Arsenal and now Liverpool – remain neatly poised for a renewed Champions League challenge.
Yet, like the snowflakes in those aforementioned ornaments, there is something in the air around B6 which either adds to or obscures such a picturesque view, depending on your perspective.
Are Villa better or worse equipped than last season to weather the inevitable storms during the race for the top four?
Do they or do they not possess sufficient grit – and that’s more than was needed around the approaches to Villa Park yesterday evening – to sustain their pursuit of Chelsea, Manchester United et al?
Will the slide of 2008-09 provide them with a surer or more precarious footing along this term’s path to the Premier League elite?
It will only become clear at the end of the football season, not the festive season.
But one thing is certain: from dreaming of an all-white Christmas just days ago, it hasn’t suddenly turned to slush for Villa overnight just because of two defeats to two top teams.
Last night’s late heartache against the Anfield underachievers was likened by many to last season’s Stoke stutter as a potential defining moment when O’Neill’s nearly men blew it again.
And granted, like the capitulation against the Potters in March, Villa wasted the opportunity to put an eight-point cushion between themselves and their rival. This time it was Liverpool; back then it was Arsenal.
But claret and blue critics should have learned their lesson from the last home defeat – to Wigan on the opening day of the season – not to draw too many conclusions from one result.
Because, in fairness, while Villa were ultimately outplayed at the Emirates on Sunday, last night they deserved so much more than the nothing they ended up with.
It was honours even in the non-penalty awards as referee Lee Probert cancelled out his decision not to punish Richard Dunne’s first-half foul on Dirk Kuyt by not pointing to the spot for Emiliano Insua’s apparent second-half handball.
But, although former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel was forced to tip over Steven Gerrard’s dipping effort before the break, it was Villa who created the game’s best chances.
Stewart Downing will still be wondering how his high-velocity volley midway through the first half, after James Milner’s left-wing corner was allowed to drift to the far post, was kept out by Pepe Reina, who instinctively stuck out his hand to correctly guess and alter the flight of the ball.
