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Club Focus – Aston Villa – Heskey salvages Villa a valuable point
By Nicolas Deskos
Saturday’s early kick off saw Villa’s table rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City, finish 2-2 at Anfield. Martin O’Neill could not have hoped for a better result and it was all down to his players to take advantage of their dropped points. In truth, Villa started poorly and they did not seem to turn up until the second half. Emile Heskey, who has been under much criticism for his lack of goals, answered his critics with a priceless equaliser to guarantee a valuable point.
Burnley took the lead after taking advantaging of poor Villa defending, as Steven Caldwell headed the ball past Richard Dunne and Brad Friedel to give the home side the lead. It was this failure to clear a free kick which lead to the opening goal and it is this failure which has prevented the Villans from keeping a clean sheet since 19 September. Chelsea were accused of lacking this basic part of a football game in the earlier stages of the season and whereas the Blues were able to improve on their mistakes, Villa seem to be reluctant to work on this integral area.
The Villans were prevented any time on the ball, and Owen Coyle’s side effectively stopped Martin O’Neill’s side from playing their usual possession football. After a lacklustre first half, Aston Villa only had a Steve Sidwell strike to show for, which was their only shot on target. The highly-rated wingers of Villa, Ashley Young and James Milner, were in the shadows of Burnley’s wingers, who outplayed and outshone the Villa starlets.
However, after the interval, O’Neill words in the dressing room had an obvious effect as Villa probed for an equaliser with Gabriel Agbonlahor forcing a fingertip save from Burnley keeper, Brian Jensen. To the Villan’s advantage, the game was becoming much more open as both sides searched for the all important second goal. The breakthrough eventually came when James Milner’s cross was headed in the back of the net by substitute Emile Heskey.
Not only has Heskey won the back the hearts of many Villa fans, he has also proved his worth to the Villa manager: “He has got the reputation of being a provider for other players to score, but I think if you're a centre-forward you have to get your quota in. I've said this before, having worked with him for a long time, I think he is absolutely capable of scoring more goals than he does." Time will tell if Heskey can continue to improve on his goal scoring record and ultimately play an essential part in Villa’s season. With the inconsistent John Carew failing to impress as he did against Bolton two weeks ago, Heskey has been granted another chance to cement his place in the Villa starting XI.
Stewart Downing was given his first 20 minutes of football since retuning from injury and despite playing a part in the corner which eventually led to the goal, it was obvious that he needed much more time to be fully fit. However, it is clear that once he is fully fit, O’Neill will feature him as an integral part of the Villa squad. As the Villans have been particularly poor away from home this season, questions have been asked of O’Neill’s choice of formation, particularly against Burnley, in the centre of the park. The Villa midfield failed to compete with their opposite numbers. It has been therefore suggested that the Villa manager should revert back to his 4-5-1 formation which has proven to provide the Villans with much needed strength in the mid-field and support for the defence. If O’Neill chooses to do this, he will be able to field Downing into his squad. Milner has the potential to play in the central midfield role, allowing Downing to play in his preferred position on the wing.
Despite coming away from Turf Moor with only a draw, the Villans remain in fifth place in the Premier League, with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City on either side. However, when compared with Spurs’ 9-1 demolishing of Wigan on Sunday, Villa’s creativity and frequency upfront is question. For Martin O’Neill’s side to be truly considered as a team to potentially break the top four, they will have to score many more goals.
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