Paul Lambert’s men picked up their first point of the season in a breathless affair at St. James’ Park that could’ve seen either team take all three points. In the end, though, while a draw was probably a fair result and certainly will do Villa a world of good coming as it did against a side many thought would batter us, it stung just a little that we couldn’t bury one more chance and get the win.
Villa started a bit nervously, with a number of long-range passes looking for Bent and Weimann going awry. But Newcastle weren’t presenting much threat or urgency, and even if it was sloppy, Villa were pressing and tackling, giving away a number of fouls and a yellow card for El Ahmadi. It seemed to have the desired effect, and Villa went from 35% possession early on to finish the half with 46%.
More important was the goal from Ciaran Clark, which came as he continued his run after flicking the ball out wide to Barry Bannan, and met the ensuing cross emphatically to head home past Tim Krul.
Darren Bent looked as though he’d add another, but was denied by Krul, while at the other end, Brad Guzan, replacing Shay Given, denied Ba with an excellent save to keep out what looked like a certain goal.
Villa finished the half with five shots on goal, compared to one for Newcastle, with just slightly more of the half played in Villa’s end, 29% to 24%.
Villa started the second half brightly, coming out hard and controlling the first 10 minutes. Guzan had a fine save at 52 to deny Ben Arfa.
But at 59 minutes, in almost an exact repeat of the Steven Pienaar goal that opened Everton’s account last week, Ben Arfa cut in just outside the box, wasn’t closed down quickly enough, and sent a cracker into the far corner to level the score.
After that, the game opened up, and buoyed by the goal, Newcastle came much more into the action. Gabby made his first appearance, replacing Andreas Weimann at 63 minutes, and Villa fashioned a number of good counterattacking chances that could easily have seen them retake the lead.
At 79 minutes Stephen Ireland had a chance to score what would’ve been a beauty, but sliced it wide from the top of the box when it looked as though he had the goal at his mercy.
At 83 minutes, Gabby showed his pace hasn’t deserted him, and put Darren Bent through. The shot was blocked, and if Bent had first-timed it, he could very well have scored.
Then in the dying seconds of extra time, Brad Guzan made a brilliant save to preserve the point.
Guzan was very much in control of his area throughout, made at least three great saves and stated his case for continuing to start.
Villa finished with nine shots on goal to six for Newcastle, while the Toon had 10 off target and Villa four, for a respectable 13-16 ratio on all shots. Possession finished at 53-47% in favor of Newcastle, again, a respectable number against a good side on the road.
For a neutral it was an entertaining game, and for Villans, a sign that all is not lost. The first point is on the board, and it will have helped confidence enormously. Lambert showed plenty of attacking intent, as did the players, along with lots of graft, application and hard challenges, accruing three yellows and 20 fouls. The downside was seeing Karim El Ahmadi go off with a twisted ankle, but he was putting weight on it and will have extra time to heal with the break.
So what did you make of it? Encouraged, discouraged, or just relieved?
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