Roy out to avoid New Year bawl
VILLA BOX CLEVER TO LEAVE HODGSON BATTLING A SLUMP
WHAT’S worse – getting thrashed 7-0 at home in your previous game or being outplayed by 10 men?
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson has got problems as his team slides down the table and high- flying Leicester arrive tomorrow night.
Hodgson admitted: “We have to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask, ‘ What have we done wrong?’
“The mistakes we have made, we have to make certain that we try and prevent it happening again.”
Aston Villa were dominant even though they played a man short for half the game.
They were only one up – it should have been more – when one of their pillars, Tyrone Mings, went for two bookable offences in four minutes.
“Both yellows were soft, pathetic to be honest,” said Villa boss Dean Smith, whose side are unbeaten in four games and haven’t conceded in that time.
“The first yellow card, Mings got attacked by Wilfried Zaha and got booked for it. The second, it looks as if Mings has got fouled by Zaha before the booking.” But Smith was still able to celebrate his 100th game in charge.
All it needed was for star man Ollie Watkins to score. He was involved in all three and headed against the bar as well as hitting the post.
Smith added: “I said at half time that they had no better man to lead the line when they were down to 10 men than Ollie Watkins. He was absolutely outstanding and deserved a goal.”
This was Villa’s first home win since they stunned everybody with that 7-2 victory over Liverpool.
Zaha, a class apart, did his best amid his battle with Mings, but that’s 10 conceded and none scored in successive games.
It could easily have been more because Watkins has surely upset someone somewhere.
His header against the bar brought Villa their second goal through Kortney Hause from the rebound, while keeper Vicente Guaita saw Watkins’ 88th-minute drive come off the post and back to him. “It wasn’t my day in front of goal but I’m trying to do everything right,” said £28million man Watkins.
“But at least I’m getting the chances, so I think one of them will fall for me.”
Bertrand Traore was a wasp buzzing around Palace and he set up and scored Villa’s first. Sending a pass out to Watkins on the right, Traore kept an eye on the progress made.
When Guaita got a good hand to Watkins’ shot, Traore was there to drive in the rebound. Traore was full
CHIN AND BEAR IT! Hodgson was left with plenty to ponder after a bad defeat of life and cut through Palace again in the 17th minute and beat Guaita but his shot hit a post.
And Traore sent Jack Grealish clear of Palace’s defensive cover three minutes later, but Grealish’s solo run and shot ended with a Guaita block.
Villa survived a VAR call for a Matty Cash foul on Patrick van Aanholt, but Mings didn’t survive to half-time.
He had finished second to Zaha when he offered him a race after 54 seconds of the game. Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez sorted that out with a good block, but the mood had been set for the Zaha v Mings battle.
The first Mings booking after a dustup with Zaha did look harsh, but the second, after Zaha had beaten Mings and then got blocked by him, was spot on.
Traore was sacrificed to bring on deputy centraldefender Ezri Konsa and the chance was there for Palace to take advantage.
But Hause’s header and a brilliant 76th-minute Anwar El Ghazi shot into the corner from Watkins’ pass beat every guard put up by Palace.