Don’t what it is about the cups, but Villa find a way to win again and move on to the next round of the F.A. Cup by coming from behind to beat Ipswich on two second-half goals from Darren Bent and Andreas Weimann.
I could only listen to the action courtesy of Jack Woodward and Tony Morley, but it sounded reasonable enough for a cup tie. You don’t expect anyone to roll over, and Ipswich certainly didn’t.
The takeaway obviously will be coming back, and the team continuing to get the sense they can win—and hold on to (ahem) a winning position. Doesn’t sound like much, but every outing for this side this season will be a true learning experience. The downside? Conceding the first goal again and not finding a way to finish more chances.
So, Villa continue to be a work in progress, but they’ve avoided a banana skin, notched another win, and live to fight another day. Darren Bent found the net, which has to be welcome in terms of either moving him on or reducing our reliance on Benteke, and Andreas Weimann, in continuing to score, is perhaps finding that groove where it becomes something he expects to do. I admit I’d not had much time for him, but he’s certainly scoring important goals and netting with a frequency that demands he be taken more seriously.
Shay Given apparently had at least two top-quality saves, which again, is good for him and Villa either in terms of moving on or staying sharp as a backup and giving Villa some depth.
Anyway, that’s Ipswich sorted, and now it’s time to focus on Bradford and getting to Wembley.
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