Aston Villa make it nine points from nine, defeat Ipswich Town at Villa Park
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa Football Club continued their winning ways on Saturday. Steve Bruce’s men, courtesy of Albert Adomah’s brace, defeated Mick McCarthy and Ipswich Town at Villa Park.
In a rough, physical match, Steve Bruce and company won their third in a row, claiming nine points from three matches following the international break. The result sees the claret and blues remain in 4th-place, but the gap near the top narrows.
The opening 25 minutes were not too pretty as Ipswich nearly broke the Villa defense. An innocuous corner found the back of the net, only for the Tractor Boys to be adjudged a foul in the box. To make matters worse, Mile Jedinak, deputizing in central defense, could not continue and was replaced by Christopher Samba.
Albert Adomah opened the scoring in the 35th-minute with a deft finish after Ipswich failed to clear their lines. His one-on-one finish on the other side of the break sealed all three points for Aston Villa. After halftime, Ipswich Town failed to threaten Sam Johnstone’s net at all.
The win is mitigated slightly considering Keinan Davis went-off injured as well near the expiry. His injury is worth monitoring with a Friday evening match on December 1st.
Ipswich threatened well in the first half, but could not break the Villa defense. Sam Johnstone gets downgraded slightly after flapping at a corner that led to a goal (ruled a foul in the box, luckily).. GK. Aston Villa. SAM JOHNSTONE. 5.5
6.0. Effective, but not always pretty, the Alan Hutton method (trademark pending). Hutton remained first team right back over Ahmed Elmohamady following the international break and put in a solid performance. Hutton was heavily involved with 32 touches at halftime, but passing was a bit wayward.. RB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON
Aston Villa. MILE JEDINAK / CHRISTOPHER SAMBA. 6.0. Mile Jedinak was dominating in the air before an untimely injury (ugh) shortened his evening. Christopher Samba replaced the Aussie and did a solid-average job.. RCB
Really, really awesome match from James Chester. The Wales international did everything asked of him and then some – playing well with whoever is beside him in central defense. Had six aerial duels won at halftime and finished with ten total.. LCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER. 7.0
6.5. Equally as good from the other Wales international. Neil Taylor contributed two key passes per WhoScored and stopped a blazing Dominic Iorfa run with a well-timed challenge.. LB. Aston Villa. NEIL TAYLOR
7.0. Is Glenn Whelan a dare-I-say slightly better version of Ashley Westwood? Stays anonymous for most of the match, but plays an important part in solidifying formation shape. Additionally, the Republic of Ireland picked-up the assist on Albert’s first – even if it was kind of lucky.. CDM. Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN
6.0. Hourihane has fallen off a bit in recent weeks, but it was always going to be unfair to judge him on his explosive early-season form. Passed at a 61.5% clip at halftime, but was far livelier in the second half.. CM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE
7.0. Good set-piece delivery, deft passing touches. Robert Snodgrass is a real coup on-loan for a second division club. The Scotland international was probably Aston Villa’s most involved player in the attack.. RM. Aston Villa. ROBERT SNODGRASS
6.0. Not as influential as usual from the Tottenham Hotspur youngster, but a dutiful shift. Josh Onomah did well in winning three aerial duels in the first half.. CAM. Aston Villa. JOSH ONOMAH
Albert Adomah’s career renaissance continues at the age of 29. The former Ghanaian international scored his ninth and tenth EFL Championship goals this season against Ipswich Town. Most underappreciated part of A.A.? His incessant defensive coverage on the left wing.. LM. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH. 8.5
6.5. Copy and paste from Saturday’s performance. Keinan Davis did everything except find the back of the net. When the ball finds him, it sticks to his feet like glue, and he turns and finds midfield runners. Not always pretty, but doesn’t need to be with a powerful 6’2″ frame. Went off injured in the 86th-minute. Aston Villa cannot afford another forward injury.. CF. Aston Villa. KEINAN DAVIS
Ahmed Elmohamady and Jack Grealish entered late in the second half. All data provided by WhoScored’s match center.
Aston Villa go again next Friday away to Leeds United.