Aston Villa player ratings: Villa vs. Derby County – April 28
By Josh Tonti
Lewis Grabban scored a late second half equalizer to ensure points were evenly distributed on Saturday. Aston Villa drew the Rams of Derby County 1-1.
In what was a disastrous outing for the opening 35 minutes, later turned into an Aston Villa rout. The claret and blues dominated Derby County in front of a 41,745 paid crowd, but the match ended all square.
Villa recorded 72% possession and a whopping 24 shots against the Rams’ defense. We saw the return of John Terry after a three-match injury absence, as well as the return of Jonathan Kodjia from ankle soreness. The Ivorian came off the bench in the 58th-minute for a much-needed tune-up ahead of the play-offs.
Our player ratings:
GK. Aston Villa. SAM JOHNSTONE. 6.0. Two saves on three shots-on-target for Sam Johnstone. Commanded his eighteen yard box well, but ultimately, it was a quiet afternoon – at least outside of a frenetic opening. He recorded a 71% passing accuracy mark.
6.0. A whopping 119 touches on 87% passing. Elmohamady was not very accurate with his whipping in-swingers, but he was an effective outlet on the right side. A much more assured defensive effort than his fullback partner.. RB. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY
7.5. Brilliant performance for a guy who is 45/45 in league matches this season. Seriously, he has not missed a minute this year. 5 aerial duels won, 2 interceptions, 2 tackles won, 4 clearances.. RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER
8.0. Ditto for the Aston Villa captain, but Terry gets special accolades for the assist to Lewis Grabban’s equalizer.. LCB. Aston Villa. JOHN TERRY
NEIL TAYLOR. 2.0. At fault for Derby County’s opener and then injured less than ten minutes later. There is no way Taylor displaces Alan Hutton at left back should the Scottish Roberto Carlos prove to be fit.. LB. Aston Villa
CDM. Aston Villa. GLENN WHELAN. 5.0. I though Glenn Whelan was really mediocre today. Anonymously shielded the Aston Villa backline, but struggled to transition the ball into attack. Steve Bruce’s upcoming decisions in defensive midfield should be really interesting.
6.5. Hourihane threatened Scott Carson’s sticks with three shots-on-target. Accurate passer in midfield, but struggled to win the ball back with but a single tackle in 90 minutes. Needs to be an all-action player for Villa in the play-offs.. CM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE
7.5. An incessant dribbler in the Derby box. A true thorn in the Rams’ side for 90 minutes – 5 key passes.. RM. Aston Villa. ROBERT SNODGRASS
7.5. Weird day for Jack as he began the match really sloppy, but grew into Villa’s most influential attacker. 3 key passes, per WhoScored as he operated as the team’s quarterback through zone 14. 113 total touches.. CAM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH
6.0. Josh Onomah might have be a little unlucky to have been benched, but Albert Adomah rebounded with a solid appearance. At least better than what he’s showed the last month or so. Needs to be huge for Villa in the play-offs. Substituted for Kodjia in the 58th-minute.. LM. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH
Aston Villa. LEWIS GRABBAN. 7.5. Surely Lewis Grabban is going to start at center forward for Aston Villa, no? He had a bad run about two months ago, but he’s since returned to his scoring ways. Steve Bruce must find the proper attacking balance between Grabban, Davis, Hogan, and Kodjia (also applies to bench selection, too).. CF
Millwall next week. #PlayTheKids