Well, having had to wait nine days since the rest of the Premier League kicked off, we will certainly take that.
It was a measured and at times slow paced encounter for Villa, punctuated by the kind of talking points that seem to define a match whenever Chris Wilder’s team are at B6.
Hawk-Eye wasn’t the focal point this time however, with a first half red card for John Egan, after the defender was ajudged to have prevented Ollie Watkins from bursting through on goal.
In typical Villa fashion, we never do things the easy way.
Matt Targett delivered the games next act of clumsiness as Villa failed to deal with a slick United break. Burke’s run across Targett inside the penalty area was enough to see the striker tumble, with a penalty duly awarded.
Emi Martinez, Villa’s new signing from Arsenal has just been called up by Argentina. He capped a fine week, with a superb diving save to deny a powerful Lundstram spot-kick.
After the break, Villa continued to play a cautious but ‘in control’ game-plan. We could certainly have afforded to be a little more adventurous at times, with the pace frequently dissipating out of a move as the midfield opted for the safe, rather than incisive pass.
However, the deadlock was broken on the hour mark, with Tyrone Mings flicking a header on for his centre-half partner Ezri Konsa to nod home.
It was a technically impressive header with little or no pace on the ball as it reached the former Brentford player. Konsa though, craned his neck to deftly put the ball beyond the stranded Ramsdale.
Villa continued to be efficient without being spectacular.
Grealish, under the watchful gaze of England boss Gareth Southgate, repeatedly probed and will be dissapointed with a couple of near misses.
Watkins was a menace, meandering between the Sheffield defence and midfield. Villa’s new record signing went closest with an effort that narrowly drifted past the upright.
Make no mistake, this wasn’t a free-flowing performance, but it was a valuable and hard earned first win of the season against a visiting side who we haven’t beaten in our last 4 attempts.
Played 1, won 1? We’ll definitely take that.
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Embed from Getty ImagesVilla 1-0 Sheff Utd
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Emi Martinez
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Matty Cash
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Matt Targett
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Ezri Konsa
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Tyrone Mings
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John McGinn
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Conor Hourihane
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Douglas Luiz
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Jack Grealish
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Trezeguet
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Ollie Watkins
Summary
Sheffield United were always going to be a tough team to break down, Chris Wilder has assembled an exceptionally hard working unit, well drilled with plenty of experience and quality. It’s easy to see why they exceeded a lot of pundit’s expectations last season. They’ll be unhappy with the way the dice fell today, but if they continue working as hard as this the results will come.
“The sending off changed the game” is a good old footballing cliche; trite, but true. For one thing, the game started pretty open, with both teams looking to get forward and attack. Once Egan decided the only way to deal with Watkins was to try and pull his shirt off however, Sheffield United went into full on park the bus mode, with the coaching staff screaming “4-4-1!”. They were more than happy to sit back, soak up pressure and look to use the pace of Burke and Ampadu on the break.
It almost worked, too. Matt Targett’s clumsy challenge on Basham gave the visitors a penalty, which Martinez coolly saved. The Argentinian looked calm, composed and commanding on his debut, and if early indications are anything to go by will prove to be a snip at the reported £20 million.
In fact, all three of our new acquisitions proved effective, with Watkins showing his hard working attitude and a keen eye for goal with a shot that drifted just over. Cash linked up well with Trezeguet down the right flank, playing some wicked balls across the face of Ramsdale’s goal.
The rest of our first eleven weren’t quite as effective, with many looking a little off the pace. Mings and Konsa linked up with a well-rehearsed training ground routine for the only goal, but in all honesty has an easy day at the office following the sending off (although Konsa looked like a little discomfort after the interval). Luiz was neat and tidy in possession, Trezeguet was full of energy and Jack was as quick and nimble as ever.
Targett looked like a player who needs more minutes, however, and neither Hourihane and McGinn didn’t really affect the game as much as they would have liked, We boasted plenty of possession, but simply weren’t able to make it count.
Job done, though, and three points on the board. Bristol City up next in the cup – where you’d expect new arrival Traore and fringe players like Hause, Guilbert and Davis to feature.
Martinez (8) – Cash (7) – Konsa (7) – Mings (7) – Targett (5) – Luiz (6) – McGinn (5) – Hourihane (5) – Trezeguet (6) – Watkins (6) – Grealish (7)
First game of the season ,clean sheet, will take that