And here’s Stuart James’s match report from Villa Park:
Well, I’m going to wrap this blog up now. We’ll have the match report up on the website shortly. Thanks for reading!
That was such a huge victory for Villa. After they scored the goal, their defensive effort was excellent: Lescott, Okore and Bacuna covered everything, Westwood, Veretout and Gana ran their hearts out, and Kozak did really well in difficult circumstances. Palace weren’t at their best, and that’s now four successive scoreless league games, but take nothing away from Villa: the lads done great, etc.
Newcastle v Man United is in the final seconds. Follow here:
What a victory for Remi Garde, and well deserved. Villa played with such heart and spirit, even if they needed a huge favour from Wayne Hennessey. They’re just four points off Sunderland now. The comeback starts here!
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Full-time: Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace
Villa have done it!
90 min+2: Oh, what a chance for Scott Dann! Ward’s ball in, and Dann was totally free in the box, but his control let him down, and it rolled under his foot! Dann has his head in his hands: that was a great opportunity. One minute!
90 min +1: Another throw in the corner, and Villa are just playing time here. But Jedinak is fouled, and Palace send everyone forward. Nerves!
90 min: How many added minutes? Three! Villa almost there. Bunn whacks it downfield, and Kozak wins it. Now he just has to keep it in the corner, which hd does, and wins a throw. Well played!
89 min: Bunn claims Wickham’s flick-on. Villa’s fans are starting to sing. Palace just can’t fashion anything. Chamakh looks to go in behind from Cabaye’s pass, and he’s in here … but the flag goes up! Ooh, that looked close. I’m not sure he wasn’t level.
Change for Villa: Clark on for Gil.
88 min: Palace are sending everything long. Zaha tries to go past Cissokho, but he can’t keep it in, and it’s a goal kick.
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87 min: This has been a really impressive defensive showing from Villa. More guts that guile, but they’ve got in the way of pretty much everything. Palace haven’t really created anything in this second half. Jedinak’s ball in is won by Dann, but it’s over the bar.
Two and a half minutes!
86 min: Westwood fouls Chamakh, and we know where this is going. All of Palace’s big lads go forward. Cabaye’s ball in is headed clear by Westwood.
85 min: Palace look long, but Villa defend it nicely, and now they come away with it on the break. And that’s close from Ayew! Magnificent skill to get by Puncheon and Ward in the box, and he thrashed it from 12 yards, but it was just over the bar! That would have settled it.
84 min: Villa have the ball where they want it: near the Palace corner flag. (Well, ideally they’d probably want it in Palace’s net, but you know what I mean.) Palace can’t get the ball.
83 min: Villa play keep-ball for a sequence, but they’re not really looking to go forward. This could be a long eight minutes.
81 min: Palace have increased the numbers of long balls they’re prepared to pump into Villa’s box. Every free kick is going into the box. Panic in the Villa defence as Wickham went round the outside, but Okore does well to mop up the danger. Palace pressing here!
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79 min: Ayew is flattened by Joel Ward on the left touchline, and that’s a clear yellow. No argument from the full-back.
Now Gana is booked for a foul on Chamakh as Palace looked to break. Another set piece chance for the visitors.
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78 min: Final change for Palace: Mile Jedinak on for James McArthur.
77 min: Oh, Kozak is in, clear on goal … but the flag is up! It was the right call: Kozak had just gone a little early. But that was good possession football from Villa, and a lovely forward pass from Westwood.
76 min: Cabaye releases Puncheon, and Villa are exposed momentarily, but Puncheon’s cross is overhit, and Zaha, on the left wing, can’t collect. Villa break and Kozak does well to keep the ball and feed Veretout, who is clipped by Zaha. Good play from the Villa duo.
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75 min: Ooh, Zaha nearly got Soare in, but Bacuna was positioned well. Villa can’t keep the ball up front, and the Palace centre-backs are pushed up almost to the halfway line.
73 min: Chamakh goes clear on the right, but Lescott is across to clear the danger. He’s been good tonight. Villa defending very deep, which is a bit risky considering there’s still almost 20 minutes to go.
70 min: Twenty minutes left. Can Villa still offer a threat going the other way? Zaha gallops after one through the middle, but Bacuna is alert to welly it clear. Then Wickham tries a shot from distance, but it’s high over ther bar.
In anorak news, no more hood for Alan Pardew. It’s getting serious now.
69 min: Into the wall, and a loud cheer erupts from the Villa fans. It looks as though Villa are going to get everyone behind the ball and keep what they have.
67 min: An ugly late clip from Veretout on Zaha, and it’s a deserved booking. Good position for Palace from the free kick, about 22 yards out left of centre. Cabaye is licking his lips, metaphorically.
65 min: If Palace fail to score here, it’ll be four straight Premier League games where they’ve drawn a blank. They have 25 minutes to turn it around, and they have Chamakh and Wickham to rely on.
Just looking at the goal again: it surely must be marked down as an own goal. He stopped the original effort from Lescott, but it bounced up, hit his leg, and bobbled back through his legs and over the line. A really bad error, unfortunately.
64 min: Another free kick for Palace, and another one long for Scott Dann: he wins the first ball, but Villa are quickly in to stop the danger.
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63 min: Can Villa hold on? Palace haven’t really been at their best in this game, but they remain a threat. Alan Pardew has pulled his hood up over his face.
62 min: Palace change, and Marouane Chamakh is on for Sako. Palace free kick, but Villa do enough to shuttle it clear.
60 min: I marked that down as a Hennessey own goal, but it might be credited to Lescott, I suppose. One for the dubious goals panel! Terrible error, though, from a goalie who had enjoyed a really good period just recently.
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59 min: Well, that’s a huge moment, and a much-needed slice of luck for Villa! A regulation corner, Lescott got up well, and pushed header was straight at Hennessey – but the goalie got into a horrible mess and allowed it to bobble over the line! Such a soft goal: Hennessey had it, dropped it, it went through his legs and crept over the line. Villa lead!
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GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Crystal Palace (Hennessey og 58)
Oh my! What a clanger from Wayne Hennessey!
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57 min: This game has perked up, largely thanks to a) an increased tempo and b) an unerring capacity for both teams to keep giving the ball away. Corner for Villa.
56 min: Puncheon looks long for Cabaye, in an advanced forward role momentarily, but he’s stopped in crude fashion by Bacuna. It’s a free kick, but a lecture from Mark Clattenburg will suffice, and there’s no yellow card. Cabaye’s ball in is devilish, but Mark Bunn holds on … just.
55 min: Better from Villa, and Bacuna races clear on the right side. His cross for Kozak is misplaced, but that’s more like it from the home side.
53 min: Not the best delivery, but it’s behind for another one, and Villa will try again. It’s cleared. Groan.
52 min: Ooh, great save from Hennessey! Villa’s best moment, and Kozak did so well to make something of it. Ayew drove forward, it broke on the edge of the box, and Kozak held off a posse of Palace defenders before firing a shot that Hennessey did really well to palm wide. Top save. Corner!
50 min: Flag up against Kozak. The Czech has done OK, but he’s isolated. Not much service for him.
49 min: A slow start to the second half, so take moment to read this heartfelt mail from Adam Griffiths: “So we’ve not conceded and have had a bit more possession than Palace. The sad thing is, this is progress.
“Tom Fox, assuming you’re reading this (and why wouldn’t you be?), when you say “It’s easy to just look at the table. But I look at everything. We’ve generated more revenue on both our shirt and kit deals and in our ability to control costs. We’re making progress there” do you realise that a) this increased revenue will no longer be increased when we go down and 2) absolutely noone on the terraces cares about this when we’re watching the dross that we are?
“General Krulak, don’t come out with the whole ‘fight like marines and we’ll avoid relegation’ shtick. You only got a draw in Vietnam.
“Randy Lerner, for the love of all that’s sane, communicate with the fans. We’re sick of being taken for mugs.
“All of you at boardroom level. The club is broken. Fix it, or bugger off if you can’t. Much obliged.”
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47 min: Villa were OK in the first half, but they looked like a team not used to winning. Ayew was lively, though, and Westwood showed some nice touches, but Gil faded after a nice start, and collectively the team seems to lack belief.
We're back!
46 min: And a change for Palace: Connor Wickham is on for Joe Ledley.
And a final half-time email from Andrew James: “Given Villa don’t look like beating any other team in the league, let the relegation recriminations begin. Many would point to Sherwood’s naive tactics that lost plenty of points (eg 2-0 up against Leicester, lost 3-2), but a large portion surely has to sit in the chairman’s lap. Years of trying to do just enough to stay in the league has come home to roost. The scary thing is they’re unlikely to bounce straight back as the Championship holds several teams that are better on paper. It’ll get worse before it gets better.”
An email from Gavin Stone, Palace’s southernmost fan! And also president of the Tasman Eagles’ supporters club, if such an organisation exists: “I am following your coverage on my phone in a campsite in Dover. That is Dover in far south Tasmania. I must be the most southern Palace fan right now. Am hour away from most southern point of Australia. And even from down here I know Palace need a proven goalscorer. Sign Charlie Austin!”
Here’s Robert Dawbarn: “You have to hand it to Palace – they do have some decent kits. Really liking this version of the sash in an all-white kit. Next white thing to be seen, the Villa white flag.”
Zing!
We have goals at St James’s! Follow it with Scott Murray:
Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Crystal Palace
No goals, and not many surprises, to be honest. Villa have tried their best, but they’re short on skill, and confidence, and haven’t really looked like scoring. Palace look more intent, but they’ve been a little sloppy in the final third, notwithstanding the Zaha strike after 42 seconds that hit the post.
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45 min +1: Just a minute of stoppage time. Hennessey whacks it downfield, and that should do it.
Zaha gives Lescott the slip, and for a minute it looked like he was in, but his touch let him down. Joel Ward tries one from long range, and, predictably, it’s nowhere near.
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45 min: Gana does have some nip and bite, doesn’t he? It’s just maybe the other stuff he lacks. He wins it cleanly from Cabaye, but the Villa move breaks down. They need some calm and vision in midfield. Bring back Gordon Cowans!
44 min: Gana wins it from McArthur, drives forward and has a go. It’s deflected, and Villa have another chance from the corner. It drops nicely for Westwood on the edge, and he hits it nicely, but it’s blocked. Story of the half, really.
42 min: Space for Palace on the break, but Zaha’s layoff is slack, and it takes all of the momentum out of the attack. Palace have seen a good deal of the ball, but their attacking thrust needs a bit of fine-tuning. Puncheon has been quiet, which is not usually like him.
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41 min: Hennessey confidently plucks it out of the air like a man stealing bird’s eggs from a very high nest. Better delivery required for the hosts.
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39 min: Soare heads behind when he should have headed clear. Another corner!
38 min: Ayew finds some space on the edge of the box, and shoots for goal. It’s deflected, and it’s a corner. Better.
shooting. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
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37 min: Nothing happening for Villa. Here’s Adam Griffiths: “Just set ‘Palace do some attacking, Villa’s defence is a shambles’ on repeat, post, and bugger off to the pub. Log in when Palace score, drink, repeat. Easy money.”
I think Adam Griffiths talks a lot of sense.
35 min: Cissokho and Ayew combine really nicely down the left, and Cissokho crosses, but Villa have only two players in the box! Anybody would think they were Otto Rehhagel’s Greece, or the 1992-93 Arsenal side that scored 40 goals in 42 league games. I suppose a John Jensen-David Hillier midfield axis isn’t exactly jogo bonito, is it?
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33 min: There’s a slight air of tension among the home supporters. Villa have done OK, but Palace are way more confident on the ball, and look more threatening in attack. Bacuna’s ball in is the opposite of threatening, and Palace clear easily.
31 min: Palace are on top here, and Cabaye strides forward menacingly, with Joel Ward in support, but Ward’s not on the same wavelength, and the moment is gone.
Anyone got any thoughts? About anything?
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27 min: Dangerous position for Palace, and, wheesh, that was close. Cabaye’s set piece, Delaney went in, and it floated mere inches wide! Bunn didn’t move. I think it came off Delaney’s shin, which maybe confused the goalkeeper, but that was a real heart-in-mouth moment for the Villa defence.
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26 min: Villa’s best chance, and it was simply constructed: a long ball forward, flicked on by Kozak, and Ayew ran in behind … but his shot was wide of the goal! A chance, was that: he tried to go near side, but sliced it, and Hennessey didn’t have to make a save.
25 min: Sako is offside, needlessly. If he’d run back with the Villa defence he’d have been through on goal, but he didn’t, so he wasn’t.
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24 min: Villa haven’t really created anything of note, and then Kozak smashes Delaney in the nose with a high foot. Think John Hartson on Eyal Berkovic, but accidental.
23 min: Palace look rather more assured in possession than Villa, although the home side are battling gamely. McArthur finds himself in a little pocket of space on the edge of the box, but is caught in about three minds over what to do, and the attack peters out. Palace cranking it up here.
21 min: Ooh, what a good shot from long range from Sako! He was free in space, and Villa were a little leisurely in attempting to close him down, so Sako had a dip with his left foot, and it was just over the bar. Bunn looked worried. Close!
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19 min: Joel Ward has been heavily involved so far, and he tackles Kozak cleanly. Then Gueye, or Gana, as he’s called on the back of his shirt, takes out Cabaye, and it’s another chance for Palace to sling it in the mixer. They do, and again Dann wins the first ball, but Villa welly it clear. Dann has won about three clear headers in the opposition box.
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18 min: Promising for Villa, but then Bacuna’s cross is sub-par and intercepted cleanly, and Palace break. Groans around Villa Park.
16 min: Free kick for Palace, and again it’s slung in towards Scott Dann, who wins the first header, but Villa are stout in defence, and nothing comes of it.
On the break, Westwood looks to go past Ward, who did his best impression of a cynical brick wall, and stops him. No yellow card, though.
14 min: Westwood has made some clever passes so far, and he finds Cissokho in space down the left. His cross is blocked. Now Veretout has a shot from 30 yards, but it’s straight at Hennessey. He didn’t really get hold of it.
13 min: Delaney dived in recklessly on the touchline, and for a minute Ayew looked as though he was away, but Joel Ward did well to come across and cover. The game’s just settled a bit after that rough-and-tumble opening three minutes.
11 min: Free kick to Palace. Sako looks long for Dann, but that’s well defended by Villa, and it’s through to Bunn. Now McArthur is whistled for a handball, and Villa can build.
9 min: Villa cough it up in the middlfe of midfield, and here’s the problem: Palace have players who can cause them problems on the counter-attack. Puncheon looks for Zaha, but the pass isn’t quite right, and it’s out of play for a throw.
7 min: Nice hold-up play from Kozak, and James McArthur is called for a foul on Gil. Westwood looks for Kozak, who had got free in the box, but Dann is tall enough to flick a header away from the striker. Perhaps that early let-off has sprung Villa into action, because they’ve started to impose themselves.
5 min: Carles Gil, who’s got a pleasingly smooth style, gets free down the left, but his cross is cut out. Now Bacuna, who’s been prominent so far, goes for goal. It’s blocked, but this is better from Villa.
3 min: Seriously unlucky from Zaha just then, but the defending from Villa was all over the place. Zaha exchanged passes with Puncheon, and Lescott, who was two yards behind the other Villa defenders, played him onside. Zaha opened up his body and tried to bend it with his right foot, and Bunn was beaten, but it was back off the post. Forty-two seconds had elapsed.
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2 min: Now Kozak is in down the middle! A long punt, and the Czech striker got between Dann and Delaney, but his shot is blocked. Corner to the hosts, and Westwood has a go as the set piece is cleared. It’s over the bar, but that’s a good response from Villa.
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And we're off
1 min: Villa in traditional claret and blue; Palace in white. And what a let-off in the opening seconds! Lovely one-two between Zaha and Puncheon down the left, and Zaha’s shot is off the post! Palace cut Villa open just then, and that’s really unlucky for the visitors.
We’re seconds away from kick-off. Mark Bunn, clad in back, doing some exercises in goal. Good luck to him!
Plenty of empty seats at Villa Park!
And here’s Bouncer’s Dream:
@timmyhilleh Gareth Southgate wasn't in the 90/91 Palace squad that finished 3rd he came a bit later
— Bouncer's_dream (@ianandsibel) January 12, 2016
Yep, you’re quite right. A skinny young Southgate was on the books at Palace then, but barely played that season: I guess Steve Coppell found no need to disrupt the Andy Thorn-Eric Young centre-back axis? Although I guess Southgate came through as a midfielder. Anyway, I’m going down a Gareth Southgate rabbithole here. On to tonight’s game!
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Villa fan Adam Griffiths has a bright idea: “We’re clearly going to get another doings tonight. Relegation is a nailed-on certainty. The only target left for the season is to beat Derby’s 11 points from that ever-so-special season, and I have no confidence we can do that.
“Let’s just apply now for voluntary relegation; everyone else can have the three points they would have got anyway, we can stop stinking out the division, and the club can be put out of the fans’ misery. Is there a form I can fill in?”
A big night for Libor Kozak, the tall Czech striker once of Lazio. He’s barely played in his three seasons with Villa – injury caused him to miss the entire 2014-15 season – but he has a pedigree, and finished as the Europa League’s top scorer in 2013. Can he do what Scott Sinclair and Gabby Agbonlahor have so far failed to? Villa, at the risk of labouring the point, have the league’s lowest goals total. They’ve also conceded the second most. Just the two problems to fix, then!
Cabaye is back for Palace, and Villa fan Richie Lauridsen is nervous:
@timmyhilleh as a Villa fan, nervous to see Cabaye come in for #CPFC. Hoping we can grab three points to at least slow the doom and gloom.
— Richie Lauridsen (@richielauridsen) January 12, 2016
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The peerless Scott Murray has all the action from the inevitable goalfest that won’t be Newcastle v Man United. Follow it here!
So, changes for Villa. Club captain Richards and goalkeeper Brad Guzan are dropped, and in comes Libor Kozak for his first Premier League start since 2013. Mark Bunn gets the nod between the posts.
Yohan Cabaye, Palace’s best player, comes back into midfield, and Joe Ledley and Bakary Saho are also back. Connor Wickham and Fraizer Campbell could make an impression from the bench.
Your teams
Aston Villa: Bunn, Bacuna, Okore, Lescott, Cissokho, Veretout, Westwood, Gana, Gil, Kozak, Ayew. Subs: Guzan, Richards, Clark, Sinclair, Richardson, Lyden, Gestede.
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare, Ledley, Cabaye, McArthur, Puncheon, Sako, Zaha. Subs: Speroni, Campbell, Jedinak, Wickham, Mutch, Chamakh, Kelly.
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
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Hello and welcome
Lean times in the West Midlands. Aston Villa, seven times champions of England, 1981 European Cup winners, founder members of the Football League, and basically a big, big club, are stuck at the bottom of the table, on their way to the second tier for the first time since 1987-88. They’re in a big-time funk, and, as Micah Richards can testify, the fans aren’t happy.
Villa have struggled in the recent past – in 2011-12 under Alex McLeish they were particularly poor, and won only seven league games all season – but this season has been a horror show. They haven’t won since the opening day at Bournemouth, and their problems are myriad: can’t score goals, can’t stop them, new manager seems unable to solve the problems, and, worryingly, the owners have gone quiet. Remi Garde insists Villa aren’t down yet, but lose again today and it looks like the season has gone. A win could pull them within four points of Sunderland and into double figures on points, but another loss could be terminal.
Palace, on the other hand, are at the right end of the table, and are looking for their best finish since, burnished by Ian Wright, Mark Bright, Gareth Southgate et al, they finished third in 1990-91. They’re solid in defence, aggressive in midfield, and they’ve got pace on the counter-attack: they’re seventh at the moment, although they haven’t won – and haven’t scored – in their last three Premier League games. (They did score a welcome 2-1 victory at Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday, though.) Their away form is good, and they have the tools to worry Villa.
Kick-off’s 7.45pm, or 2.45pm ET. Join us!
Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s why Remi Garde is looking for more from Aston Villa owners:
“This is something I asked from them a fortnight ago, or something like that. Not to take the pressure off me – if I didn’t want the pressure I wouldn’t have this job. It’s more because I’m facing [the media] every week but I know Villa from inside for only 10 weeks now. At some point I cannot explain and I am not in the position to judge what happened before and whether it was right or wrong because I wasn’t here.
“At some point it is important that the Aston Villa voice is not only mine. This is not to avoid my responsibilities. I will do it as long as I am in this position at this club.”
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