Aston Villa vs. Boro: Villa take assuring semi-final play-off lead
By Josh Tonti
Steve Bruce’s boys got the job done at the Riverside, defeating Middlesbrough 1-0 in the first leg of the EFL Championship semi-final play-off. Aston Villa host the return match at Villa Park on Tuesday.
In what was perhaps the most important Aston Villa match in a decade or more, Steve Bruce & Co. delivered a solid performance against Middlesbrough, albeit in different ways between the halftime break.
The lineups went as such, with Villa opting for Mile Jedinak in the middle of the park.
Aston Villa XI (4-1-4-1): Johnstone; Elmohamady (Whelan 88′), Chester, Terry (c), Hutton; Jedinak; Snodgrass, Hourihane, Grealish, Adomah (Kodjia 71′); Grabban (Bjarnason 81′).
Substitutes: Bunn, Samba, Onomah, Hogan.
Middlesbrough XI (4-3-3): Randolph; Shotton, Gibson, Ayala (Fabio 64′), Friend; Besic, Clayton, Howson; Downing, Assombalonga (Bamford 75′), Traore.
Substitutes: Konstantopoulos, Fry, Harrison, Leadbitter, Cranie.
The game started on the rough side with several crunching tackles, not uncommon for knockout matches/play-off games. Conor Hourihane was assessed a foul inside of 30 seconds, despite what looked to be like a clean tackle. He was later booked in the 13th-minute – a trend that continued throughout with 4 yellow cards given (Friend, Gibson, Snodgrass, in addition). Several others probably should have seen cards too. The match continued innocuously enough until Villa’s first attempt on goal resulted in, well, a goal.
A training ground corner kick was nicked in by none other than Australia captain Mile Jedinak. Jedi lost his marker, former Blues man Ryan Shotton (big ups to Lewis Grabban for peeling away traffic). A near post header flicked-in off the far post. 1-0, Aston Villa. The attack surged well into the first half until ‘Boro regained control with about ten minutes to go before break. Adama Traore was a menace for much of the first half, switching over to the left flank for a chance at Ahmed Elmohamady. Still, the defense held, but not before some chances from Adama and striker Britt Assombalonga. Oh, and Snodgrass was denied by Darren Randolph and the post from his curling left-footed effort.
Middlesbrough really made life difficult for Villa in the second-half. ‘Boro controlled possession in the claret and blue half, of which they claimed 62% on the day. Alan Hutton switched flanks with Elmohamady to help aid in the defending of Adama. He was tremendous, but it was a group effort, with Villa consistently triple-teaming him outside the box. Adama was far from perfect, but he was the biggest menace on the evening, and there remains a good chance he’ll be the main attacking threat Tuesday, too.
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In all, a tremendous effort from everyone at the club. The tie is far from over, however, as a 1-0 lead at home is not assured. There is a quick turnaround with a Villa Park match on Tuesday. It should be interesting to see if there is any rotation, namely Jedinak, who struggles on short rest. Elmohamady’s fitness needs monitoring too; he pulled a hamstring close to injury time.