Aston Villa Defeat Wigan 3-2 in Dramatic Fashion
By Clayton Nass
After six changes to the side that captured 3 points at Hull, Aston Villa once again came from behind to secure the 3 points after a late winner from Birkir Bjarnason.
The game looked to be open quickly with both sides showing some panache in the attack. Wigan sent two shots wide in the opening five minutes of the game, while Villa got forward probing deep into the opposition defense with Green, Grealish, and Kodjia looking hungry.
The first break came after Jack Grealish was fouled in a dangerous position in the opposition half. New signing John McGinn sent in a saucy free kick that found the head of the captain, James Chester, who hammered it into the back of the net for the opening goal of the match. Nothing sweeter than taking the lead at home through contributions from arguably the three most prominent players wearing the Aston Villa colors.
Villa looked to be more the aggressor in the first half, seeing McGinn have a few decent chances of his own, as well as deliver another solid free kick that could’ve been converted by Axel Tuanzebe. Somewhat against the run of play, a poor back pass from Mile Jedinak saw Ørjan Nyland get caught in no-man’s land, having his attempted clearance blocked by Nick Powell, sending the ball across the line and into goal.
The second half opened to more of the same from both sides, with Kodjia getting into some good areas, and Wigan looking to capitalize on the newfound momentum. Their hard work would pay off after the goal scorer Powell sent in a great cross that found the head of Callum Connolly, who put Wigan up 2-1, silencing the fans at Villa Park.
The Villans moved immediately to the attack, and were somewhat luckily rewarded for their efforts after a John McGinn corner kick pinballed off of multiple players in the Wigan penalty area, and eventually into the back of the net.
Things once again got intense, with AV looking to push ahead, Wigan content to stay back, eat clock, and play on the counter. Newly coined super-sub Connor Hourihane came onto the pitch in the 87’, and just 7 minutes later sent a cross across the face of goal that was met by the charging Bjarnason, the park becoming electrified as Thor hammered the ball into the bottom corner to seal the late victory for the side.
The win sees Villa on 6 points, currently third place behind leaders Middlesbrough and second place Leeds. The loss saw Wigan fall to ninth in the league table.
And now, player ratings for the Claret and Blue: