Kevin Friend’s terrible, no-good refereeing cost Aston Villa a point

Kevin Friend successfully made himself the story of a Premier League match by robbing Aston Villa of a point at Crystal Palace.

Dean Smith called upon an unchanged starting XI from the one that beat Everton 2-0 last Friday.

Crystal Palace lined-up in a 4-3-3 with Jordan Ayew, Jeffrey Schlupp, and Wilf Zaha up top; former Villa striker Christian Benteke began the match on the bench.

First-Half:

Aston Villa started brightly with two efforts on-target inside three minute as Wesley and John McGinn each fired on Vicente Guaita between the sticks. That form was short lived, however, as Crystal Palace controlled much of the first-half with a volley of solid chances from the wide areas. Patrick van Aanholt, Schlupp and Zaha were able to get the best of Villa’s wide men for much of the match.

Douglas Luiz was the first to go into the book for a simple challenge from behind. A soft yellow card, but one you can’t complain too much. Then Neil Taylor followed for crashing through Zaha from his left-back position…..Then Frederic Guilbert was booked for an innocuous foul from behind…..Then Trézéguet (more on him later) was booked just before half-time for a late challenge.

The cards themselves weren’t exactly an issue, but referee Kevin Friend ignored a nasty foul when Luka Milivojevic caught Jack Grealish from the side, late, in an awkward position, that also stopped a Villa counter. No card.

Second-Half:

No changes for either side, but that changed quickly when Friend sent Trézéguet off for bringing down Zaha near the touch line. Instantly, the game’s outlook became far more bleak with Villa needing to defend for 35+ minutes with ten men. Smith opted to go for it with a 4-3-2 formation as Keinan Davis replaced Jota. We can appreciate the aggressiveness, but it was perhaps a bit naïve as Jordan Ayew got Crystal Palace on the board after a mix-up/deflection between Grealish and Tyrone Mings.

We were all set to enter the international break far less happy after a 1-0 defeat, but suddenly Grealish drove through the Palace midfield and found Henri Lansbury streaking down the right channel! The substitute buried it into the far post!

But not quite.

Friend inadvertently (?) blew his whistle as Lansbury lined-up to take the shot, meaning the goal was waived off. That was the first error. The second came when he booked Jack after the incident for a non-existent dive on the edge of the penalty box. The very move that found his fellow midfielder with the ball!

We’ll let the experts weigh-in below. Final: Crystal Palace 1, Aston Villa 0

Now we’re left to stew this match over for the entirety of the international break. Great.