Out fought at St James Park
A disapointing result last night at St James Park as Newcastle emerged victors 2-0. Game was there to be won throughout against limited opposition but a wonderful Martins goal was crucial. The same man made it 2-0 only a few minutes from time.
The Villa side saw one change - Petrov was injured so Carew started in a very attacking 4-4-2 formation. Newcastle also adopted a 4-4-2 formation with Guiterrez and Duff on the wings. The first half was a pretty spiteful affair with a few nasty tackles flying in. Villa though looked a lot more dangerous on the counter attack. Carew was holding the ball up really well and countless occasions Enrique was caught out of position by balls played down the line. Butt and Barton were getting stuck in in midfield but Laursen was dominating Ameobi in the air. The perenially inconsistent Martins was looking very lively tho. He turned Cuellar beautifully at one point before blazing over.
Still Villa had two gilted edged chances before the break. Firstly, Agbonlahor and Milner combined well on the edge of the box. Milner rolled a nice ball across the box that somehow rolled between Gabby’s legs. An absolute shocker. Villa cleverly attacked again moments later. Gabby fed Ashley Young one on one with Beye. A brilliant turn left Beye floundering but his shot rebounded off Given’s forehead and out for a corner.
The second half started with Villa again in the ascendancy. For some reason Barry and Milner seemed to take the majority of the set plays last night. I just felt the majority of the deliveries were off. Barton was growing in influence in midfield. Martins certaintly had the better of Cuellar but it was difficult to see where they would get a goal from. However the goal did come, Barton played in Martins who brilliantly turned Laursen and fired a great shot past Friedel.
MON made a shambolic tactical decision to try and get Villa back into the match. Fair enough bringing on Sidwell but Reo Coker was stupidly moved to right back. Luke Young who had Duff in his pocket was moved to left back. Shorey who wasnt playing that bad was taken off. It was a stupid change. Suddenly Duff started getting more freedom down the left. Guitterez also down the right. To be fair Newcastle saw out the last 15 mins well. Butt hit the post with a free kick. They generally looked dangerous now as Villa were forced to chase the game. Young didnt seem to really want to know after a clash of heads and after the Barton altercation Gabby also wasnt the same.
Gareth Barry after an excellent start to the game was caught in possesion a good bit so Villa were forced to play too many long balls. I dont think we are good enough yet to dominate a team by keeping the ball and playing around them. We look far more potent in swift counter attacks. Tiredness seemed a factor in the second half. With that in mind maybe a 4-5-1 would have suited the side better. Newcastle killed the game off with about five minutes to go. Awful defending from Reo Coker saw Guitterez walz in behind. Cuellar didnt go to close him down and Martins had the simple task of tapping in. Game over.
For Villa, Luke Young, Laursen and Carew were best. Reo Coker won some good balls in the first half but is so limited on the ball. Barry started very well but faded and was caught far too often on the ball. In the second half Barton and Butt outplayed our midfield duo and that was disapointing. Milner tried very hard and did create a gilt edged chance for Gabby. After an early yellow card I thought Ashley Young would take Beye to the cleaners. He showed his class with that turn to create his chance. He also delivered some quality crosses that Carew and Gabby didnt anticipate but to be fair Duff and Guitterez worked very hard to track back at all times. It was rare that Young got one on one with either full back and that is disapointing.
The biggest negative on the night was the performance of Cuellar. Martins had the beating of him throughout. This seemed to unnerve him as usually he is good on the ball but he hit far too many long balls last night. Sidwell looked badly short of fitness when introduced. A very bad tackle on Martins was his main impact.
For Newcastle, their defence was a lot better than usual. Barton had a fine game in midfield. Yet he is still a liability. An unnecessary vicious stamp on Luke Young could have been a red card in itself. Duff despite working extremely hard was well held until late on. Guitterez and Martins were dangerous throughout. JFK had instilled a desire and workrate very similar to his Wimbeldon side. Yet they lack quality all over the park.