Aston Villa player grades: Team held scoreless at Hull City

Aston Villa were held scoreless at Hull City Saturday evening. Two dropped points push Villa further away from automatic promotion.

A feisty first half from the claret and blues was not enough to break a deadlock in Yorkshire. Hull City held Aston Villa scoreless in a match that saw the Tigers push away from the relegation zone.

In a near first-choice starting eleven, Villa just could not get past Hull center backs Michael Dawson, Angus MacDonald or Michael Hector. Hull won the possession battle 52-48, but could only muster a single shot on target. For the away side, Villa could not complete a pass all evening with just a 70% pass accuracy clip.

In the second half, we witnessed peak Steve Bruce. Another game in which three strikers saw the pitch at the same time. On the bright side, Jonathan Kodjia played 33 minutes in his first action in five months.

SAM JOHNSTONE. 6.0. Had absolutely nothing to do in the first half, courtesy of the Villa defense. Johnstone only had to make one save all evening, but he was comfortable with the ball at his feet.. GK. Aston Villa

5.0. Looked physically imposing against Hull City. Tuanzebe did not always play a perfect final ball (or even pass for that matter), but he provided a great outlet on the right, combining with Robert Snodgrass effortlessly. That was the first half. The second was an absolute dumpster fire before being replaced by Ahmed Elmohamady on the 75th-minute.. RB. Aston Villa. AXEL TUANZEBE

RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER. 5.5. Struggled with the ball at his feet as well as in the air, per WhoScored. I thought James Chester was fine, if not anonymous, aiding in the clean sheet for Villa.

6.5. Just an overall really solid performance from the Aston Villa captain. 5 aerial duels won, 3 tackles won, and a single blocked shot.. LCB. Aston Villa. JOHN TERRY

5.5. I guess Alan Hutton was very good defensively, but he was a huge drain on the Villa attack. Numerous turnovers and poor runs. Moreover, Hutton should have been booked for diving in the first half.. LB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON

6.0. Mile Jedinak had a pretty good game before his exit in the 61st-minute for the return of Jonathan Kodjia.. CDM. Aston Villa. MILE JEDINAK

7.0. Sometimes Steve Bruce’s strategy seems to be, “rely on Robert Snodgrass to create everything offensively.” Snoddy had a good game, but even he was not going to will Villa into a goal past Hull’s Michael Dawson.. RM. Aston Villa. ROBERT SNODGRASS

5.5. Crazy amounts of running will go unnoticed by most, but Jack was not quite at his sharpest. Weird second half central midfield role did not play to his strengths.. CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH

HENRI LANSBURY. 5.0. I was really excited for Henry Lansbury to get a start in the claret and blue, but he delivered a dud. One great interception aside, Lansbury struggled breaking-up play in the midfield. Did have one very threatening cross, however.. CM. Aston Villa

ALBERT ADOMAH. 4.0. Oh boy Albert Adomah was terrible. Taken off for Scott Hogan in the 82nd-minute. He will not want to see replays of all those missed chances.. LM. Aston Villa

4.0. Struggled mightily in a lone hold-up role. Also struggled in the second half. Very surprising he lasted the entire 90 minutes.. CF. Aston Villa. LEWIS GRABBAN

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