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Club Focus - Aston Villa - Milner magic keeps top four aspirations alive
After leaving the Britannia Stadium with only one point on Saturday, it seemed as though Villa’s chances of gaining a Champions League spot were very slim. However, three days later and James Milner’s winning goal against Wigan ensured that the Midlands side are still on track for fourth place.
The Villains went in front fortunately on 27 minutes when John Carew’s far-post header was inexplicably volleyed into his own net by Wigan’s James McCarthy. Two minutes later, Gary Caldwell escaped the marking of Richard Dunne to glance Charles N’Zogbia’s free-kick to pull the home side level. The high-tempo of the game followed into the second half with both sides enjoying chances at either end and on 63 minutes, Mohamed Diamé’s poor clearance fell to James Milner on the edge of the Latics’ penalty area who duly finished with a placed shot, putting Villa ahead. From then on Villa remained in control and managed to a secure what could be a significant three points in the challenge for fourth place.
Martin O’Neill once again fielded a familiar starting XI on Tuesday, despite only playing three days prior to the game at the DW Stadium:
Aston Villa Starting XI
1 Friedel
24 Cuellar – 5 Dunne – 29 Collins – 25 Warnock
7 A Young – 8 Milner – 19 Petrov – 6 Downing
11 Agbonlahor – 10 Carew
The above formation is arguably Villa’s strongest side and it will be interesting to see how long O’Neill will able to field the same players week in week out, particularly with an important FA Cup semi-final looming closer and closer. While tiredness affected their performance against Stoke on the weekend, on Tuesday, the Villa players showed no signs of fatigue.
They began the game with plenty of attacking intent and above all they looked menacing on the break - as they have done all season. Despite not getting on the score sheet, John Carew’s performance was a joy to behold. He was a constant thorn to the Latics’ defence, continually testing Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal. The Norwegian came close with a back-heel that was just wide of the near post followed by a strike which was saved by the legs of the Wigan goalkeeper.
Not only has the victory put the Midlands side right back in the thick of the fight for fourth place, it also holds greater significance. It was O’Neill’s first March win in the Premier League in a decade, and it means that Villa remain the only side in the top flight not to be beaten in 2010. If this form is continued, Champions League football next season could well be achieved. O’Neill has been very reserved about his side’s top four aspirations throughout the season, but after the game on Tuesday he clearly expressed his objective for the end of the season: “We're hanging in there for the chase for fourth spot. It's a difficult run-in for us but we're excited by it, we're going for it and we're going to try to achieve it.”
With home fixtures against Wolves and Sunderland to come, Villa now have an excellent chance to chase down the teams above them in the league. When the remainder of the fixtures are considered, out of their 10 outstanding matches, eight of the teams are below the Birmingham side with the exceptions being Chelsea and fellow top-four aspirants Manchester City. Three points against the lower-placed teams will be essential with the away clash at Eastlands looking like a possible top four decider.
John Carew believes that his side are better prepared for the end of the season. He said: “We have learned from last year when we didn't really manage to maintain our level for the whole season,” adding that O’Neill does not need to rotate his squad: “The players are super-fit and enjoying it every game, so we're not feeling sorry for ourselves and we're ready for the final games.” Unlike in their last campaign, Villa have been able to achieve a certain consistency throughout the season and if this continues they will definitely be in a higher position come May 9.
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