Aston Villa vs Swansea City Review

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January 2, 2012 by joshilan14

Swansea City finally got their long awaited first away win since returning to the top flight. Villa Park proved to be the setting for this victory as they beat Aston Villa 2-0. This win saw Swansea leapfrog Aston Villa into 11^th place by virtue of goal difference while The Villains remain in 12^th place. This was Villa’s fourth consecutive loss at home in the Premier League.

 

Nathan Dyer broke the deadlock after four minutes when he pounced on a poor back pass by Stephen Warnock to fire a low shot past a helpless Brad Guzan in the Villa goal. Both sides created chances with Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor Swansea’s Dyer and Andrea Orlandi being the players creating the most opportunities. Both goalkeepers had little to do from then on but Michel Vorm and Brad Guzan dealt comfortably with efforts from James Collins and Danny Graham respectively. Only two minutes after half time, former Aston Villa winger Wayne Routledge doubled Swansea’s lead after following up on Danny Graham’s effort. Irishman Richard Dunne and Stephen Ireland both came close for Villa, but Swansea’s lead was never threatened. Danny Graham could have increased the Welsh side’s lead but Dunne managed to get a last ditch tackle in. Charles N’Zogbia hit the crossbar in the last minute of added time and that was the closest Aston Villa came all day.

 

With Swansea looking settled in the Premier League, this away win could prove to be the one that helps them to go on and start picking up more points on the road. The Chelsea win proved to be just a minor rest bite for Villa, whose fans are still critical of Alex McLeish and this loss shows their inconsistency this season. In his post match interview, McLeish said that ‘he felt the fans frustrations’. On the contrary, the heavily praised Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers said that the win would be the start of a ‘good year for Swansea’. In saying that Rodgers might just be right and with a first away win under their belts, Swansea can only improve.

 

Follow me on twitter @joshilan_at_btd.

 

Also, can you sign this petition to help Barnet FC stay at Underhill for the foreseeable future as they will be without a stadium if the lease isn’t renewed for the stadium, which looks possible in the current state of things. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/keeping-barnet-fc-at-underhill/

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