On a night when the season, and Villa’s Premier League residency, could’ve been relegated to history, Aston Villa decided to make a little of their own instead, recording the first hat trick in five years and the biggest win since 1995, all the while managing to crown a new hero as Gabriel Agbonlahor overtook Dwight Yorke to become Villa’s top all-time scorer of the Premier League era.
That was certainly an evening the long-suffering Villa faithful deserved and may long remember. As Champions League Finals go, it wasn’t half bad.
It’s almost impossible to overstate the importance of the match. Coming in just two points ahead of Wigan and a game behind, Villa had to at the very least keep pace. But really, we knew they had to win.
What we didn’t know was that Villa would take 33 shots, put 18 on target and six into the net. And while it was fantastic fun, combined with Newcastle’s dismantling at the weekend we witnessed an eleven-goal turnaround in the two teams’ relative goal differential to put Villa clear of 17th place on goal difference, and five points clear of Wigan.
The pressure is on, and Sunderland and Newcastle will be feeling it along with Wigan. Villa almost seem to have been liberated by it.
The young team Lambert built on a budget, so frail of confidence and tender in their years, have been much better down the run-in, getting results, winning six-pointers, and showing resilience. And it was Ron Vlaar, Matt Lowton and Christian Benteke who were at the forefront of the effort to repay the manager’s faith on the night.
With Vlaar charging in to notch his first goal for Villa, the side got the start they needed. Then 90 seconds later, Sunderland had equalized, and we all had to wonder whether the team could find the will to re-impose themselves.
Matt Lowton and Andreas Weimann had the answer, an emphatic affirmative that saw Lowton single-handedly intercept the ball, push it upfield, and play Weimann in on goal with a sublime pass that the young Austrian did justice to with his sure finish. 2-1 Villa, and no looking back.
In truth, though, it wasn’t all at comfortable for any of us until 3-1, when Benteke began showing the best of his predatory instincts to head home the rebound from a cracking Agbonlahor shot and take over the match. The side seemed almost buoyant, keeping on the pressure and attacking intent, finally finding their stride and the proficiency in front of goal that has so often eluded them.
Instead it was Sunderland who crumbled on the night, raggedly dragging themselves through to the ignominious finish, showing no fight or will. Di Canio might get some spirit back into them, but that’s a tough loss to take with only three to go.
It was only fitting that with the crowd chanting for a sixth it was Gabby who got clear on goal and showed the composure that has often eluded him, deftly rounding Mignolet and slotting home for a well-deserved goal, and a record, that will mean so very much for the man with Villa tattooed on his heart.
The job’s not done. But Villa have their fate in their own hands. And they’ve started to show that Paul Lambert’s faith in them hasn’t been misguided, even if they’ve given him some sleepless nights.
He was game for a bold gamble dictated by the club’s finances. He bought young players, foreign players, stretched his limited budget, and decided to live and die on the picks he’d made.
While Joe Bennett may have struggled throughout the season, Lowton and Benteke have shone, and the right back has gone from strength to strength, and certainly had his best game in a Villa shirt last night. Benteke needs no comment.
Other players got their chances, some more than others. But at the end of the day, I don’t think, beyond Bennett, that many have any real disagreements with the basic side that has emerged.
So here’s to the lads. Here’s to the faithful Villans there to revel in it. Here’s to getting another three at the weekend and lifting ourselves clear of this miserable purgatory. Then it’s onward and upward.
it was a night to remember. Villa rose up and shouted, “We’re not dead yet!” They might even be feeling much better. I know I am.
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