[Archived] News Article -> 2011/12 Match Report: Aston Villa 3 Rovers 1

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Aston Villa	(2) 3 – 1 (0)	Blackburn Rovers
Agbonlahor 12, Heskey 25, Bent 67		Pedersen 52
Referee: S. Attwell		Attendance: 32,319

If a week is a long time in politics, it's a positive eternity in football, particularly for the supporters of Blackburn Rovers. Last Saturday the Rovers surrendered three points to Wolves and this proved to be the trigger for a week of intense transfer speculation. Seven days later and little had changed. Despite the leaks of who was about to sign, the fact remained that no new players have actually put pen to paper within the last week. Hopefully, things will change in the next seven days, for on the evidence of the first 180 minutes of Premier League football the Rovers look a very ordinary team who will do well to maintain last season's league position.

After the disappointments at Ewood Park last Saturday, Steve Kean rang the changes in both personnel and tactics for the latest of the seemingly endless encounters with Aston Villa. Ryan Nelsen bravely climbed off the treatment table to make his first appearance since early April, but there was still no sign of Chris Samba or Gael Givet as speculation with regard to their futures continues to mount. The introduction of Nelsen allowed Steven Nzonzi to return to midfield, while a change in tactics brought David Goodwillie into the team to form a twin spearhead with Jason Roberts.

With members of the Rao family looking on, the Rovers made a bright start to the match before Villa quickly gained the upper hand. Once again, it was balls played into the channels that caused the Rovers' back-line untold problems. Gabby Agbonlahor, Charles N'Zogbia and Darren Bent seemed to find space and time at will in and around the Rovers' penalty area. On twelve minutes a delightful move and scintillating piece of play by Agbonlahor resulted in the first goal. Finding himself in a one-on-one situation with Michel Salgado, the Villa winger turned the former Real Madrid man inside-out before curling a shot into the top far corner of the net. Once again, questions must be asked of the full-back, but also questions must be asked about why he was left so exposed against a speedy winger with no cover to lend a hand.

It was noticeable how quickly Villa turned defence into attack, while the Rovers looked somewhat ponderous in comparison. A number of long balls were played for Roberts and Goodwillie to chase, but, in truth, neither man looked capable of getting the better of a resolute Villa defence. At the moment it would appear that Goodwillie is still coming to terms with the pace of the English game and he struggled to make any impression against Richard Dunne and James Collins. While one couldn't fault his effort, the fact remains that he was far too easily brushed aside and rarely got into the sort of positions that Darren Bent sought out all afternoon. Clearly Goodwillie is on a steep learning curve and one can only hope that he can come to terms with the speed of Premier League football sooner rather than later.

That Villa increased their lead on 25 minutes came as no surprise. Once again, as has happened so often in the past, Rovers' nemesis was none other than Emile Heskey. A well-worked move resulted in Heskey beating Robinson from the edge of the area. Questions again need to be asked about how Heskey could have been allowed to pop up in such a dangerous position without being marked.

The Rovers showed an immediate improvement at the start of the second half, although admittedly Villa were handicapped by the loss of Agbonlahor to injury at half-time. His replacement, Marc Albrighton, struggled to make the same impact. Indeed, the half was not ten minutes old when Villa lost Luke Young with an injury and the changes clearly had an impact on the home side. On the plus side for the Rovers was the fact that Junior Hoilett finally emerged from an anonymous first half and actually started to produce the sort of form that has won him such rave reviews.

It was Hoilett who finally dragged the Rovers back into the game on 52 minutes with a wonderful piece of wing play that resulted in a pin-point cross into the Villa area which was met by the head of Pedersen. The Norwegian midfielder had managed to ghost into the area between Dunne and Stephen Warnock and guided a header past Shay Given.

For a time it seemed as though the Rovers might well have a platform on which to build, but despite increased possession Given had little to do in the Villa goal. However, once again it was defensive frailties that ended all hope of a comeback. A shot from Stiliyan Petrov seemed fairly innocuous until it became entangled between Grant Hanley's legs before finally ricocheting to the feet of Bent. The Villa striker wasted no time in firing into the back of the net. It was a clumsy piece of defending from the young Scot, who in truth had a fairly uncomfortable afternoon.

Kean finally opted to introduce a couple of substitutes with just fifteen minutes remaining and the small contingent of travelling fans were given their first view of Radosav Petrovic while Mauro Formica was also given another run-out. Sadly, it was all too little too late and Villa never looked like surrendering their lead.

The final whistle ended another hugely disappointing afternoon for the Rovers and left them lodged at the bottom of the table. There were few plus points for the travelling support to take comfort from. The fact that Nelsen, who looked anything but match fit, was prepared to put his body on the line for the cause showed that some of the players are still committed. Indeed, at times he seemed to be defending almost single-handedly as he threw his body around the area to clear headers and block shots. Sadly, many fans left Villa Park questioning the commitment of some of the missing members of the squad to the cause and rumours continue to flourish in the air of uncertainty which seems to have engulfed Ewood Park.

Other crumbs of comfort could be gained from the fact that Petrovic showed a couple of nice touches and that Nzonzi worked tirelessly in midfield. Hoilett, after a first-half disappearance act, produced 20 minutes of excellent wing play before fading again. However, the truth of the matter is that there was little to galvanise the small band of travelling support apart from a twenty-minute spell at the start of the second half. Certainly not enough to justify parting with £40 for a match ticket.

After the match, Steve Kean talked about how well we had played in spells in both our opening games. Unfortunately, playing well in spells is not going to win matches. Likewise, players like Hoilett need to deliver for ninety minutes and not drift in and out of the game with fleeting cameos. Kean's post-match talk was of the need to bring in another defender and striker, but that seems hardly sufficient to cure what ills the Rovers. Undoubtedly we need players in those positions, but with question marks over the futures of Samba, Givet and Olsson we need so much more than just a couple of new faces. The present squad lacks depth and with just ten days left of the transfer window and uncertainty as to what funds are available, these are worrying times for supporters.

Those who take solace in the belief that, come the end of the season, there will be three worse teams than the Rovers may well find that their faith has been misplaced. After facing two of the weaker teams in the Premier League, the Rovers remain pointless. The manager remains no nearer to ending his appalling record in terms of delivering results and the squad remains thin to the point of being virtually anorexic.

The next ten days may well determine the path the season will take and much work needs to be done to not only strengthen the squad but also to sort out the futures of certain players who may or may not be earmarked for the exit door. Above all, we need to ensure that whoever is signed is able to come in and hit the ground running. We simply don't have the time for players to take six months to find their feet. However, the greatest uncertainty continues to revolve around the manager. Quite simply, results since he took over have been desperately disappointing and on the evidence of yesterday there is still much work to be done at the training ground if the Rovers are to avoid a season fighting relegation.

Teams

Aston Villa

Shay Given; Luke Young (Ciaran Clark 56), Richard Dunne, James Collins, Stephen Warnock; Charles N'Zogbia, Fabian Delph, Stiliyan Petrov, Emile Heskey (Barry Bannan 66); Darren Bent, Gabriel Agbonlahor (Marc Albrighton 46)
Subs not used: Brad Guzan, Stephen Ireland, Jean Makoun, Nathan Delfouneso
Manager: Alex McLeish

Blackburn Rovers

Paul Robinson; Michel Salgado, Grant Hanley, Ryan Nelsen, Martin Olsson; Morten Gamst Pedersen (Radosav Petrovic 75), David Dunn, Steven Nzonzi, David "Junior" Hoilett; David Goodwillie, Jason Roberts (Mauro Formica 75)
Subs not used: Mark Bunn (gk), Bruno Ribeiro, Jason Lowe, Ruben Rochina, Nick Blackman
Manager: Steve Kean

Bookings

Aston Villa – Emile Heskey, Fabian Delph, Stiliyan Petrov

Blackburn Rovers – None

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