Aston Villa 2-1 Ipswich Town: Claret and blues return to winning form

Aston Villa held on to all three points after surviving a second-half scare on Saturday. The claret and blues defeated bottom-dwellers Ipswich Town at Villa Park.

Courtesy of another Tammy Abraham brace, Aston Villa won their first league match of the new year. Ipswich Town, desperate for any sort of result away from home, gave Dean Smith’s men a scare in the second-half after Freddie Sears hammered one past Lovre Kalinic in the 76th-minute, making it 2-1.

But Villa prevailed.

First-Half:

Set-up in the usual 4-3-3, Villa had to make due without two first-team wingers as Yannick Bolasie returned to Everton following his loan termination. Additionally, André Green suffered yet another muscle injury which will sideline him a few weeks maximum, per Smith.

Former Villan James Collins got the start for Ipswich, and, to his credit, he played well! For Villa, Scott Hogan and Birkir Bjarnason missed places in the squad amid transfer rumors. The home club started brightly, consistently breaking up play in midfield. The frequently maligned pair Conor Hourihane and Glenn Whelan were excellent on Saturday, vastly outplaying opponents Trevoh Chalobah and Cole Skuse.

Villa’s break came early as Tammy Abraham headed home the game’s first from a set-piece. Hourihane’s 6th-minute dead ball gave Villa the lead into halftime.

Second-Half:

More of the same, Villa would not relent. Opportunities came and went, but Ipswich ‘keeper Bartosz Bialkowski was excellent in making 11 saves. The second goal was a penalty from Abraham after John McGinn earned a penalty kick off a corner. Villa put their foot off the accelerator a bit after that. Ahmed Elmohamady replaced Albert Adomah on the wing.

Sears’ rocket shot from about 25 yards out gave Ipswich a consolation goal, but an equalizer was not had.

2-1, Aston Villa. Kalinic, El Ghazi, and Hourihane were all booked and there were no visible injuries post-match. Next up, Aston Villa travel to Reading next weekend where three points will be a bit more difficult to obtain.