It might’ve taken seven-and-a-half hours, but it was a goal worth waiting for as once again, Leandro Bacuna came through on a gorgeous free kick, ending the goalless drought that followed his similar heroics against Manchester City to give Villa the impetus to go on and record a 2-0 victory over visiting Cardiff City in only the second home win of the campaign.
It’s no understatement to say it was a vital three points.
Following an uninspiring first half that only really saw two chances missed by Christian Benteke, Villa opened the second on the front foot and were finally rewarded in the 76th minute when Bacuna’s driving run saw him hauled down by Medel, and the impressive young player took the free kick he’d earned and broke the game open.
It was a gorgeous up-and-down curling strike that left David Marshall completely flat-footed and released the pent-up tension at Villa Park. Earlier, it had been Bacuna with a vital interception in the box that thwarted Cardiff’s single threatening move of the game and kept the game level.
More important, Villa pushed on after the goal, refusing to sit back, and notched a well-deserved second goal to put the game out of reach in the 84th minutes when Aleksander Tonev crossed the ball to the far post and substitute Matthew Lowton smartly headed it back into the danger zone where Libor Kozak headed back across Marshall and into the corner of the net. Kozak had earlier been denied in the 50th minute by a good Marshall save.
Villa could well have finished with three or four, but couldn’t quite connect as they came at Cardiff with their heads up. Substitute Jordan Bowery conspired not to find a wide-open Benteke on two occasions, leaving the Belgian frustrated.
While the result might gloss over the lack of creativity and cohesion for Villa in the final third that characterized much of the match, it remains the case that in the Premier League these days it’s often such a moment that turns games. And it’s crucial that Villa might actually have a player who can be a consistent threat on set pieces.
And while players had trouble finding Benteke, who still seems to be lacking sharpness in his finishing, it was also important that Kozak got into the act, which will boost his confidence.
At the other end, Villa were rarely troubled, and the defense has improved markedly. Ron Vlaar has been playing very well. While he rarely seems a dominant center back, he’s consistently finding himself in the right places, showing composure on the ball, and instilling confidence in a back line that seems to be finding its feet.
So, three points, a clean sheet, a win against a team Villa “should” be beating. We’ll take it.
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