It was far from a thing of beauty as Aston Villa traveled to London and held out for a 0-0 draw against West Ham in a performance that will leave some heads shaking. If the question at the outset was “Has progress been made?” the answer on the day would have been “No.”
In what seemed to be a move forced largely by injuries, Lambert turned to a 3-5-2 that saw the re-introduction Matthew Lowton in a more advanced wide midfield role, along with Ashley Westwood, Yacouba Sylla, Leandro Bacuna, and Karim El Ahmadi. Fabian Delph was absent along with Gabriel Agbonlahor as Andreas Weimann partnered Christian Benteke up front. Luna also failed to make the substitutes’ bench.
The set up seemed to confuse West Ham at first, and Villa started a bit more of the front foot. Andreas Weimann had a decent half-chance on seven minutes when Westwood sent him through, but Jaaskelainen came out smartly and snuffed it out.
West Ham grew more confident, attacking down Villa’s flanks, and it was Stewart Downing who was the most threatening player in the early going, Jarvis complementing him down the left.
On 15 minutes Weimann was set loose again, but lost out in a shoulder-to-shoulder tussle with Ravel Morrison. There might have been a small shout for a penalty, and Weimann seemed most convinced, but it was a fair no-call.
The set up also seemed to confuse Villa, who lacked any real cohesion, especially in midfield. While West Ham did what West Ham were always going to do, the back three of Ron Vlaar, Nathan Baker, and Ciaran Clark weren’t too terribly pressed by the Hammers’ aerial assault, but nevertheless there were a few dodgy moments that could well have gone wrong especially as Villa sat deeper and deeper, inviting pressure in the last 15 minutes in particular.
Guzan did a good job dealing with crosses, coming out strongly for a couple vital punches. Ron Vlaar had a good game. Bacuna and Lowton were pushed back as the game wore on, and neither could be said to have had a good game, although Downing’s influence down the right did diminish. Downing’s pace and decisiveness recalled his best days at Villa.
Improbably for the lack of play or presence in the final third, it was Villa who might just feel the more disappointed, with the largely quiet Benteke putting a thunderous header against the crossbar around the 71st minute in what finally was a quick and and quality move by Villa, and then minutes later being denied at the far post by a good Jaaskelainen save. In the dying minutes Guzan was finally called on to make a save, denying substitute Joe Cole at the near post.
Mainly, though, it was a story of unforced errors for Villa and poor decision making, long passes going astray, open men ignored, and players seemingly hesitant to commit and close down opponents in vital areas. The game cried out for Delph’s more driving midfield play, and Gabby’s pace and strength were missed as well. But given the recent form of Gabby and Andi (who was forced off by what seemed a hamstring pull), it’s fair to say the burden would always have fallen to Benteke.
Of course it might be fair to ask whether the makeshift lineup might have been at the root of Villa’s profligacy and disjointedness, but it will still be a performance that has to leave Paul Lambert shaking his head, as well.
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