Claret Villans
Fansided

Aston Villa vs. Fulham: Player ratings from the EFL Championship play-off final

By Josh Tonti

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 26: Mile Jedinak of Aston Villa consoles Jonathan Kodija of Aston Villa following their sides defeat in the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final between Aston Villa and Fulham at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 26: Mile Jedinak of Aston Villa consoles Jonathan Kodija of Aston Villa following their sides defeat in the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final between Aston Villa and Fulham at Wembley Stadium on May 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

We go on. That’s the message from Aston Villa veterans following the club’s 1-0 defeat to Fulham in the EFL Championship play-off final. The Premier League dream, for the next 12 months, is over.

Before we close the door completely on Wembley, let’s rehash player grades from the nightmarish London evening. For many, it was their final match in the claret and blue. But for others, they’ll show up to summer training in ~six weeks’ time.

6.0. Helpless on Tom Cairney’s strike, but he almost got to it anyway. Johnstone made two saves on the evening as Fulham skied a bunch of other dangerous chances. This was a disappointing end to what is more likely than not his final Aston Villa appearance.<p class=. GK. Aston Villa. SAM JOHNSTONE

Hard to believe, but Ahmed Elmohamady did not have a single offensive or defensive contribution. Seriously, it’s just zeroes across the board. Zero: tackles, clearances, blocks, fouls, interceptions, key passes, dribbles, shots, and offside calls. Ryan Sessegnon drifted heavily inside for most of the match.. RB. Aston Villa. AHMED ELMOHAMADY. 4.5

7.0. Six clearances, four interceptions, and three <em>crucial </em>blocked shots from the Wales international. Was this his final match in the claret and blue shirt? I hope not.. RCB. Aston Villa. JAMES CHESTER

Aston Villa. JOHN TERRY. 4.5. John Terry had a shocking match in what is probably his final Aston Villa match. The captain is partly at fault for Cairney’s goal and really struggled to stop Fulham’s counter attacks.. LCB

4.0. Villa’s oldest veterans were the worst players on the pitch, which might be the most surprising fact of all. Hutton was caught ball-watching on the winner.. LB. Aston Villa. ALAN HUTTON

5.0. Going into the match, I thought Mile Jedinak would have been the play-off final X-factor on so many days’ rest. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way. Sessegnon, Mitrovic, and Kamara dribbled circles around the Aussie. Weirdly wasn’t effective in the air, either.. CDM. Aston Villa. MILE JEDINAK

5.0. Hourihane caught a lot of flak from Villa fans, but his performance was ‘okay’. Partly at fault for a misjudged tackle on Sessegnon, that sprung Cairney open. 98% passing clip, but so few touches, and what Villa needed was a midfielder who <em><strong>wanted </strong></em>possession.. CM. Aston Villa. CONOR HOURIHANE

CM. Aston Villa. JACK GREALISH. 8.0. Sometimes I wonder where this team would have been without Jack Grealish.

5.0. Credit to Snoddy for wanting to take the initiative, but the Scotland player was just plain sloppy. He had a very physical match.. RM. Aston Villa. ROBERT SNODGRASS

6.0. I thought Adomah rebounded really well after a poor run-of-form to close the season. He effectively covered Hutton at left wing and sent some decent left-footed crosses in the box. He probably led Villa with touches inside the Fulham eighteen-yard box. His performances this season led to a recall with the Ghana national team.. LM. Aston Villa. ALBERT ADOMAH

Aston Villa. LEWIS GRABBAN. 4.5. Two play-off final losses in two years for Lewis Grabban. This one was a particularly ugly match for the center forward outside of a few offensive sparks.. CF

All data provided by WhoScored match center. A sincere thank you for following all season!

UTV.

Home/Analysis