Here’s Pete Lansley’s report from Villa Park.
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Scott Parker speaks to Sky Sports, and he looks desperately disappointed. And yet defiant, and not a little inspiring. He’s one of life’s positive people.
It’s a difficult one. A poor 15 minutes. The game ebbed and flowed and I am disappointed. They were easy goals, silly goals. I’ve got half an idea. At certain moments you need to manage a situation. You need a grip, you need to be horrible. The team play the way I want them to play but you get your nose in front. There was one point there to be had, we were sloppy in them moments. There were some naive, silly mistakes. You need to eradicate them. There’s a way to lose and I’m not pleased with the way we lost today.
[How to recover?] Easy. We have had many bumps. We are gong to try and learn and grow, be brutally honest. There’s seven games left and everything to play for. It’s now a massive game on Friday.
The goalscorer, Ollie Watkins, speaks to Sky Sports.
I think it came from the subs. Trez and Keinan. If they didn’t come on we probably would have lost that game. They bought fresh legs, and energy, Keinan is a strong guy, a bit of presence. Credit to them. Our buildup play was top, in the final third we were a bit slow. Trez works so hard, and credit to him. [The third goal]. It just came off my boot.
On Sabbath, it seems Geezer Butler, bass master and lyricist (Ozzy just sang them), is the big Villa fan. Even plays a Villa-motif bass. Though Tony Iommi and Ozzy are both fans, too. Bill Ward must be a Blues fan. Ronnie James Dio? Possibly a fan of New England Revolution.
Here’s the Premier League table, and it makes sorry reading for Fulham, three behind Newcastle, having played a game more. And happy for Villa, who are up to ninth.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 31 | 45 | 74 |
| 2 | Man Utd | 29 | 24 | 57 |
| 3 | Leicester | 30 | 19 | 56 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 30 | 16 | 51 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 19 | 49 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 30 | 15 | 49 |
| 7 | West Ham | 29 | 10 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton | 28 | 3 | 46 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 29 | 11 | 44 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 30 | 5 | 42 |
| 11 | Leeds | 30 | -1 | 42 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 29 | -16 | 37 |
| 13 | Southampton | 30 | -14 | 36 |
| 14 | Wolverhampton | 29 | -10 | 35 |
| 15 | Burnley | 30 | -16 | 33 |
| 16 | Brighton | 29 | -4 | 32 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 30 | -20 | 29 |
| 18 | Fulham | 31 | -17 | 26 |
| 19 | West Brom | 30 | -34 | 21 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 30 | -35 | 14 |
Terry is back: “Well, that was entirely unexpected! I was just consoling myself with the thought of Newcastle in the bottom three. Commiserations to Richard who seems a decent sort, Matt Targett will do until wee Kieran can be persuaded his future lies with another mid-table team slightly closer to Scotland… unlikely but we can dream.”
Full-time: Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham
With 12 minutes to play, this result looked all but impossible. But then came Trezeguet, and the salvation of Tyrone Mings’ afternoon with his assist for the equaliser. Villa, at last, and without Jack Grealish, found some attacking quality just as Fulham’s defence fell apart. Fulham look in big, big trouble and Villa have done a huge favour to Steve Bruce, their former manager.
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90+1 min: Four minutes are added on. Fulham barely look capable of seeing those out and not conceding another.
90 min: Villa push on for a fourth. Fulham look utterly wrecked, stumbling around in disbelief.
88 min: It really has been a black sabbath for Fulham. (Sorry.) They have collapsed completely, and on the sidelines Scott Parker looks disgusted. As well he might.
Goal! Aston Villa 3-1 Fulham (Watkins, 87)
Traore trickery, and his cross comes to the England striker, Watkins, and into the net from close range.
Aston Villa’s English striker Ollie Watkins (R) scores his team’s third goal. Photograph: Richard Heathcote/AFP/Getty Images
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86 min: Fulham look a tad shapeless after those changes. And hopeless too. They were briefly out of the bottom three, and now the abyss beckons them.
85 min: Villa now look so much more confident and dangerous with Trezeguet buzzing around. Keinan Davis too; he’s looked the part since coming on.
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83 min: Two Fulham changes: Off go Lemina and Loftus-Cheek, on come Maja and Onamah. Scott E’s in trouble.
82 min: What a revival from Villa, what a capitulation from Fulham. For both goals, Scott Parker tried to retain his cool but looks enraged.
Goal! Aston Villa 2-1 Fulham (Trezeguet, 81)
More Paranoid, and more doom for Fulham. Tosin loses the ball and Davis steals in. He slots it back across and Trezeguet drills in. Oh Fulham, oh no.
79 min: Black Sabbath’s Paranoid rang out as soon as that rattled the net, as is the way at Villa Park. Which of Sabbath were Villans, and what an odd song to celebrate to. (It is a classic, of course, even I do prefer the Masters of Reality material.)
Goal! Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham (Trezeguet, 78)
That’s better from Mings, as he speeds down the flank, and lays up Trezeguet who slots home. That’s far better from him, too.
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76 min: Villa chance, of which there have been few. Trezeguet heads off for a throw rather than a goal kick when he gets his angle all wrong. There is a look of embarrassment as he get up. As well there might.
74 min: Bobby Reid is booked for a midfield slider. On comes Jacob Ramsey for Villa, and off goes Douglas Luiz, who never really got too involved after his early booking.
73 min: Mary Waltz is here: “It may be a sunny spring day but as far as the mood of Newcastle fans it’s pouring rain with a cold winter wind.”
Sounds like a Stevie Nicks lyric. Newcastle actually played OK today but that’s how it’s going for them.
72 min: Fulham push for a second. Reed has a shot blocked after Bobby Reid does the same. Reed has another shot, but it goes wide.
70 min: Villa win a corner after Tete slides in on Targett. Traore takes, and it goes all the way out to McGinn who lashes one from a long way out that was never going to evade all the traffic in front of it.
68 min: Villa chance: off, at last, goes Sanson, and on comes Keinan Davis, to play off Ollie Watkins. Marvelous Nakamba will not be coming on after all, it seems.
66 min: Mitrovic stats: his first PL goal since September and his first for 21 matches. That’s a timely return.
65 min: Traore cuts in, and goes down. He then demands a free-kick and smashes the ball away. Somehow, his petulance does not get punished by a yellow card.
63 min: Villa made a change straight after the goal: Trezeguet on, El Ghazi off.
62 min: Tyrone Mings looks to the heavens. As almost certainly does Steve Bruce. That Mitrovic selection has really paid off for Scott Parker. That was such a confident finish. You see, international duty is not always a bad thing. It’s just mostly unwatchable.
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Goal! Aston Villa 0-1 Fulham (Mitrovic, 61)
Oh calamity! Mings gets a pass from Konsa and ends up setting up Mitrovic, who is calm and collected as he round Martinez and slots home.
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60 min: Alex says: “my highlight so far has been the sunny pic of Villa Park “in resplendent form.”
Yes, at least the weather has been nice.
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58 min: Loftus-Cheek tries to play in Mitrovic but he lacks the pace to take on Mings, who eases the ball away from danger. Both defences, aside from Lemina’s lucky escape, have been quite assured today.
56 min: Who can provide the inspiration here? There is much talk of the attacking quality have but that has not translated to goals this season. Scott Parker’s is one of bits-and-pieces players.
54 min: Traore falls over, claiming a foul. Or at least McGinn does. Then Loftus-Cheek escapes, and plays in Mitrovic. He cuts inside and shoots. Would have been a worldie. Couldn’t actually have been a worldie as the offside flag was up.
53 min: This game needs a goal. Really and truly. Bobby Reid tries to find it but shoots from a long way out. And Martinez has no trouble despite a slight swerve.
51 min: Villa attack down the left through El Ghazi. Without Himself, they do lack verve on the offensive. This time, Andersen gets it away.
49 min: Targett with quite a cynical foul on Bobby Reid, preventing a Fulham attack. He escapes a yellow. Early chance for Mitrovic. But he can’t get enough of a head on the ball.
47 min: Lookman is down, and looks in pain. Did he pull a muscle? It looks that way. Ivan Cavaleiro is coming on. Perhaps Lookman had promised to test out a previous injury. Lookman seems to have some kind of calf problem.
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46 min: Back away we go, and no half-time changes as Sanson is OK to continue. Marvelous Nakamba was warming up over the break just in case.
Terry is back too: “Hi Richard, At least it’s livened up an utterly dreadful game today.”
And Terry’s probably right. It’s been a bit poor.
Another watch of that penalty decision suggests Lemina did indeed get the ball. Good decision. All hail VAR! (That’s actually what it’s for.)
Richard Hirst is back: “Glad to have stirred things up on a sunny Sunday afternoon! At least we can agree on liking Matt Targett, I hope.”
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Half-time: Aston Villa 0-0 Fulham
Both teams a little short of attacking quality, with Villa still missing Jack Grealish even if they should be used to it by now. Fulham, after Mitrovic’s strong start, have not had too many clear sights of goal. The defences are winning this so far when it’s Fulham who really need the win to pull out of the bottom three. They can count themselves somewhat lucky that Lemina didn’t do quite enough to concede a penalty. He was rash but not quite rash enough.
No penalty to Villa after VAR overrules!
Lemina looks to have fouled McGinn, then the ball spills to Watkins, who definitely looks to be fouled. The ref, Andy Madley, looks at the screen to confirm. He overrules himself. Did Watkins dive? It looked a penalty on first glance but clearly not on second glance.
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45 min: Another Villa free-kick in a dangerous area for Fulham. It’s taken short but mishit and eventually Areola claims it with a high leap.
43 min: Fulham’s corner is cleared. Villa are waiting to bring on Marvelous Nakamba. Traore buys a Villa free-kick in a dangerous position. Areola pumps it away. Sanson is still on but limping badly.
41 min: Loftus-Cheek, at the other end, has a shot deflected. There’s a break in play as Sanson is down. It looks like a knee injury and it looks like that’s it for him.
39 min: Another free-kick, of which there have been many. This time it’s Villa’s and this time it’s Loftus-Cheek with the excellent header.
37 min: This time it’s Areola with the punch clear of a free-kick. That seems to be the order of the day’s goalkeeping.
35 min: A Sanson foul presents chance for Lookman to whip in a free-kick. Again, Martinez goes for it and clatters Konsa this time. The ball lands at the feet of a sliding Andersen but his momentum means he cannot direct the ball goalwards.
33 min: Bobby Reid, on a surge, robs a Traore no-look cross-field pass and forces a corner. That was slack from Traore. Very slack. Villa get the corner clear.
31 min: A few fouls from Villa so far. They are mounting up. Fulham do have a number of quick attackers. Martinez, in Villa’s goal, comes out to punch clear and clatter both Tosin and Matty Cash. Decisive.
29 min: Lots of bellowing of “man on” as Mings is robbed by Mitrovic, before Konza concedes a foul that looked bookable but escaped a yellow. Think he shouting “man on” was none other than JT.
27 min: Lovely trademark run from Loftus-Cheek, and his pass to Tete might have resulted in a better shot. As so often, Fulham gaining territory but their final ball not quite there.
25 min: Douglas Luiz misses a good chance, perhaps the best of the game so far, from a fine cross from Matty Cash.
23 min: The scars run deep from that 2018 Championship Playoff final.
First, Terry, a Villan. “I remember that final somewhat differently. Fulham fouled their way into the PL, and were lucky to only have one sent off! How Cairney managed to avoid even a yellow us still one of life’s mysteries to me. (I may have claret and blue tinted specs on, mind).“
Then, Jimesy, another Villan: “While it is somewhat rude to say so to Richard Hirst, “doing a Fulham” is apparently a thing. They were the better team in the playoff final, and they deserved to go up. Villa showed how to stay up in the Premier League. I hope they can do so, given they play better football than Newcastle. But not at the expense of Villa today.”
21 min: McGinn, scorer of a fine overhead goal for Scotland last week, tries some dribbling in the Fulham box. He gets tackled on his third jink. Nice try but that would have to be wondrous to get through.
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20 min: Villa edging forward after that early Fulham barrage. Dean Smith fashion watch: a sensible jumper. No point taking on Scott Parker in a fashion parade. JT might have fancied his chances but the role of assistant manager usually demands sportswear must be worn at all times. He perhaps considered shorts today.
18 min: Villa have a free-kick in a similar position to that previous Fulham dead ball. Targett takes and Mings is the, er, target. He concedes a foul.
16 min: Douglas Luiz is booked for a desperate foul as Fulham get men over again. The foul was 35 yards out, no-man’s land for anyone but the Lyon Juninho. Their attempt at a cross means the ball is cleared quickly and Andersen is booked for his own desperate foul. That’s one yellow apiece.
14 min: Scott Parker fashion watch: what looks like a woollen blazer, with collared shirt, and puffa-style gilet. He might be a little overdressed for the warmth of the sun but Scott E is too cool to sweat.
13 min: Mings, his right hand in a bandage, gets involved in another battle with Mitrovic. Old-style stuff, like Mark Hughes versus Dave Watson, Mick Harford v Ken Monkou. You know, when men were men.
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11 min: Richard Hirst gets in touch: “Both teams without their talisman from the play off final at Wembley three seasons ago. Tom Cairney comprehensively outplayed whatshisname from Villa then; let’s hope the team do the same today. COYW.”
Think I did the MBM. Or did I? Anyway, Fulham were much the better team that day. I remember that much.
9 min: Fulham are at it so far. Two corners forced, and Villa having to do some serious defending. Martinez looks set for a busy afternoon.
8 min: Mitrovic and Mings clash in the box. A penalty claim from Fulham but one that doesn’t get far. Then, the Serb gets in another shot. Bobby Reid lays him up and Martinez is forced to palm behind.
7 min: The signs are that both teams are going for it. That’s good. It’s also been the pattern of the return of the Premier League, which has been great fun this weekend.
5 min: Mitrovic’s confidence is definitely boosted - Mitro boost, if you will - and he tries to beat Martinez from the halfway line. Sadly, the execution doesn’t match the zest. It rolls along the ground and the keeper collects.
3 min: Early Mitrovic chance too. Space at the edge of the Villa box and that was the hit of a confident player. It doesn’t trouble Martinez, who was well positioned.
2 min: Worth saying actually that the ongoing Grealish injury is a shin problem, which sounds nasty. You need your shins, hence the pads. It hurts when they get hurt.
Early chance for Watkins, the ball whipped in but he fails to control it. The new England international caught somewhat unawares.
1 min: And away we go...with Mitrovic taking the kick-off after all the players take the knee.
The teams take to the field and Scott Parker has a nice chat with John Terry as they go to the dugout. Scott E has a big smile, JT looks a bit worried.
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Zack Lawrence has his say: “No offence meant here but I think Aston Villa are overhyped. They can’t do much without Grealish in their team and I get he’s a quality player but good teams don’t just rely on one player.”
I would imagine a few Villa fans agree, and possibly Dean Smith himself.
Dean Smith speaks to Sky Sports, and on Jack Grealish.
He’s trained this week and was looking good, but had some discomfort yesterday (Saturday), so pulled out after 10 minutes in training, so we’re on the side of caution as we must do with these injuries. I don’t know, I’m not going to stick a timeline on it because you’ll always get egg on your face with a timeline, so we’ll see how he goes.
Scott Parker speaks to Sky Sports, starting on Mitrovic’s selection.
His form for his country has played a big part. He well deserves his chance. This is a big opportunity for us. With eighty games left we all realised this is where it matters.
The big news from St James’ Park is that it was a 2-2 draw between Newcastle and Tottenham with Joe Willock getting a late and deserved equaliser.
What does that mean? A win for Fulham can lift them out of the bottom three.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Brighton | 29 | -4 | 32 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 30 | -20 | 29 |
| 18 | Fulham | 30 | -15 | 26 |
| 19 | West Brom | 30 | -34 | 21 |
| 20 | Sheff Utd | 30 | -35 | 14 |
Without Grealish’s availability and with his absence from the squad altogether, Villa make one change from their 2-0 defeat by Spurs two weeks ago; Anwar El Ghazi comes in for Trezeguet.
For Fulham, Scott Parker makes four changes, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kenny Tete are all recalled, as Antonee Robinson, Andre-Franck Zambo, Ivan Cavaleiro and Josh Maja drop to the bench.
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Well, that rips up half of the preamble but what it does do is make Fulham’s task just that little bit easier. And Mitrovic does start for Fulham.
The teams - no Jack Grealish.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Traore, Sanson, El Ghazi, Watkins. Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Trezeguet, Nakamba, Barkley, Engels, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey.
Fulham: Areola, Tete, Andersen, Adarabioyo, Aina, Reed, Lemina, Reid, Loftus-Cheek, Lookman, Mitrovic. Subs: Ream, Ivan Cavaleiro, Bryan, Onomah, Maja, Zambo, Kongolo, Ramirez, Robinson.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
Preamble
So then, Jack Grealish. He’s back. Probably. And in his absence he has been missed by both Villa and those people who see him as England’s new Paul Gascoigne who simply must start for Gareth Southgate at Euro 2020 (in 2021). Actually though, young Jack (he’s 26 in September and been a first-teamer for at least seven years) is not the story. Scott E Parker’s attempt to marry the roles of style icon and spokesman for a generation with relegation escapee that is the key issue at hand. Parker will have a keen eye on matters between Tottenham and Newcastle, which is being played before his team’s match, and Brighton’s match up at Manchester United in the late Sunday graveyard slot. The truth is that his Fulham team failed to build on their famous win at Anfield by losing to Manchester City (understandably) and Leeds (avoidably). Goals are required and Serbian scoring machine Aleksandar Mitrovic must be flushed with confidence after five goals in three matches. This is must win for Scott, Mitro and the Cottagers. But before that, a musical interlude.
He sure has acquired this kinda cool
And inspired sorta jazz when he walks
Where’s his jacket and his old blue jeans?
Well, this ain’t healthy, it is some kinda clean
That means Scott E.’s in love
Scott E.’s in love
Scott E.’s in love
Scott E.’s in love
(With apologies and due deference to the wonderful Rickie Lee Jones)
Kick-off 4.30pm UK time. Join me.
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