Near Perfect November for Villa
Near perfect November describes Villa’s twelve points from fifteen available in the month. Villa have climbed to fourth place and have sights on automatic promotion. Apart from the home reverse against Sheffield Wednesday, Villa have collected all available points. It has been Albert Adomah’s goals which have fired us to victory. Let’s explore the month again….
Preston North End: 2-0 victory at Deepdale
Two first-half goals from James Chester and Robert Snodgrass were enough to defeat Preston. A towering header, from a corner, by James Chester gave Villa the lead. After the goal, the home side went in search of an equaliser and required a John Terry clearance to keep them out. A dubious tackle from James Chester could have gifted Preston a penalty whilst Keinan Davis kept the home defence busy. Josh Onomah’s steal and run down the left wing was finished off by Snodgrass to double the lead before the break.
Sheffield Wednesday: 1-2 defeat at Villa Park
Adam Reach’s fantastic strike after 18 seconds set the tone for the day as Villa were beaten at home for the first time this season in the EFL Championship. To add insult to injury (no pun intended), John Terry limped out of the game after 21 minutes with a broken metatarsal. When Jordan Rhodes was left unmarked in the penalty area, he made the score 2-0 to the visitors. Christopher Samba, on to replace the injured Terry, forced home a late goal but it wasn’t enough.
Queens Park Rangers: 2-1 win at Loftus Road
The home side took an 18th-minute lead when Villa keeper Sam Johnstone flapped, à la David James, at a corner and Jamie Mackie stabbed the ball home for QPR. Villa picked the pace and intent as the half wore on and Albert Adomah wasted a great opportunity before making amends on the stroke of half-time. A handball in the penalty was given and a sweetly struck penalty restored parity. It was Adomah who scored again with a smart shot across QPR keeper Alex Smithies goal to take the lead for Villa. Despite plenty of pressure from the home side, Villa stood firm to take the win.
Sunderland: 2-1 win at Villa Park
The bottom of the table visitors came to Villa Park with a new manager but it was the home side who prevailed. Adomah’s third goal in four days opened the scoring when he finished a smart ball across the Sunderland defence from Snodgrass. Sunderland’s response posed questions of the defence which were answered but not always convincingly. Early in the second half, Onomah’s deflected shot looped into the goal, in front of the Holte End, to double the lead. Lewis Grabban hooked home to reduce the deficit for Sunderland but, once again, Villa held on for the three points.
Ipswich Town: 2-0 win at Villa Park
A disallowed goal in the first half was the closest that Ipswich got to scoring as Albert Adomah’s rich vein of form carried Villa to their third league win in a row. His first came after Mile Jedinak’s injury added to the mounting medical problems at B6. A deft finish from Adomah, after the Ipswich defence let him wander into the box, opened the scoring. His second (and tenth of the season) came after a long, defence-splitting ball from Snodgrass was expertly slotted home to end the resistance of Ipswich.