The West Ham Transfer Gets the Winner
Going into my EPL experiment one of the main issues was whether Aston Villa would be able to keep my interest as both the football and basketball seasons got started. To this end, I knew that a key for me would be for Villa to be televised a lot and pick up a signature win early. Well after two months I can report that television hasn’t been an issue at all (thanks ESPN2, Fox Soccer Channel, and JustinTV) and after the road upset over Liverpool I had my signature win. Frankly I’ve gotten into a nice little groove of DVR-ing the weekend games and then watching them immediately when I wake up – and this morning was no different as I took in the game before racing off to join Zim, Dr. G, and Claire at the UT/OU watch party (a scary experience).
Going into this morning’s home match with EPL power Chelsea I’ll admit that my expectations were not particularly high. Although they had lost to Wigan earlier in the season Chelsea was still on top of the table and for those of you who don’t follow the EPL that is a fairly common occurrence (calm down Man U fans). I suppose I’d set my hopes to the idea that Villa would be able to get a point through a draw and move right along to a few easier fixtures on the schedule. After an impressive ‘15 minute goal by star Chelsea forward Didier Drogba it appeared it was going to be one of those types of days.
But then Villa drew level off of an Ashley Young corner kick when Manchester City transfer Richard Dunne headed the ball home off a deflection – his second goal in as many matches. After enduring about 20 minutes worth of the battering Chelsea offense, Villa again found the net – and again off a corner…and again by a recent transfer – this time James Collins (West Ham) - to take a 2-1 lead. Chelsea made sure to keep Brad Friedel heavily involved in the match as they attempted 21 shots (7 of which on goal) for the contest and what appeared to be roughly 6,531 shots in the final 15 minutes. Yet whether it was Drogba or Frank Lampard - Friedel turned them all away and Villa hung on for a huge 2-1 victory.
As I’m sure you all know by now I’m no soccer expert so I’ll leave the analysis to the people who are in fact experts – but it was a hell of a win. If this was a sport I was more familiar with I’d assume this was the type of win that could possibly take the squad to the next level – but I’ll just say it anyway. Villa’s next three matches are on the road (excluding the Carling Cup match with Sunderland) but are against Wolverhampton (14th), Everton (11th) , and West Ham (19th) – an opportunity to get a nice little run together certainly exists. Hopefully Villa will be knocking on the door of the Top 4 all year long.
Great start to my sports weekend. Up the Villa!
Hey man. Volume 5 is the latest I can find. Where’s the coverage? Nah, I understand, it’s a long season.. gotta pace yourself. Turn of the New Year will be a great time for an update. Check the fixture list and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Anyway, Man U tomorrow, and if we’ve ever had a chance at them, this is the match. UTV.
Oh I’ve been watching every single game my friend. Hoping they can make the Carling Cup finals. I’ll have to get something up on the last couple months shortly.