Aston Villa 0-2 Wigan Athletic
3pm, Saturday May 3, 2008 (Attendance: 42,640)
Antonio Valencia’s stunning second-half brace accounted for an off-colour Aston Villa at Villa Park yesterday.
Wigan’s shock victory ensures their Premier League survival – a feat boss Steve Bruce heralded as “the best achievement” of his managerial career to date. Their opponents, meanwhile, now look set to fall agonisingly short of fifth place and subsequent qualification for next season’s UEFA Cup.
The match was prefixed by a minute’s silence in memory of Villa fan Christopher Priest, who died in an incident outside the ground following last month’s Second City derby with Birmingham City. Nonetheless, the opening exchanges of the game were far from sombre or reflective; and a scrappy, physical first half ensued.
Early on, Olof Mellberg – in his valedictory home appearance – crunched into Marcus Bent out on the touchline and the resultant free kick initiated a game of pinball in the Villa area, from which the home side were lucky to escape with their goal intact.
Another potential Villa Park departee, Gareth Barry, skewed a decent opportunity high and wide on 24 minutes, having been played in by one of many John Carew nod-downs throughout the course of the afternoon. And within minutes, Barry had spurned another half-chance; a measured Ashley Young back-flick wide on the left found the supporting Wilfred Bouma, but the Villa captain headed Bouma's whipped cross safely within the impressive reach of Wigan ‘keeper Chris Kirkland. Kirkland then saved smartly from a Zat Knight header soon after.
Just before the half hour mark, a long, high ball found Gabriel Agbonlahor totally unmarked and – to the surprise of the Wigan back-line – onside, right on the edge of the area. Though his first-time control was impressive, the Erdington-born speed-merchant then scuffed a left-footed effort lamely wide of the target.
Shortly after, Marcus Bent hooked a close range attempt just wide and then went on to fire a 25-yard rocket narrowly over Scott Carson’s goal.
With Villa pressure mounting on the Latics’ goal as half-time approached, Young’s precise corner found the head of Agbonlahor, who had a header tipped onto and over the bar by Kirkland at full-stretch.
But soon after the interval, Valencia struck Wigan’s first. A Villa corner was cleared upfield and, with the home side’s defence left exposed, Jason Koumas found time and space to play a sharp pass into the path of the advancing Valencia. His 20-yard shot took a wicked deflection off Wilfred Bouma and looped into the net over the despairing dive of stranded Carson.
In response to this setback, Villa boss Martin O’Neill rang the changes – Patrik Berger replaced Zat Knight, with Mellberg switched to his favoured centre-back position and Nigel Reo-Coker to right full-back. But this radical re-shaping only served to further destabilise his shaken team.
In the 63rd minute, a long punt from Kirkland was flicked on by Wigan battering ram Emile Heskey, and Valencia once more eluded the retreating Villa defence with a powerful run and clinical near-post finish.
O’Neill, animated as ever, called super-sub Marlon Harewood from the bench in vain hope of sparking a late revival. However, within seconds of the big forward’s arrival, Wigan mounted yet another penetrating counter-attack. A three-on-one raid against an abandoned Reo-Coker narrowly failed to culminate in what would have been an astonishing 20-minute hat-trick for Valencia; Kevin Kilbane’s through-ball found the Ecuadorian starlet in acres of space once more, but on this occasion the speedy winger struck his low shot straight at Carson.
Despite dominating possession and territory from thereon in, the home side rarely suggested they could muster even a consolation goal. In the final throes, John Carew headed weakly wide of Kirkland’s near post and Martin Laursen frustratedly hammered a 30-yarder over the bar and into the Holte End masses, now resigned to defeat.
Post-match, Martin O’Neill lamented his side’s inability to perform at a crucial stage of the season. He said: “Both the result and the performance were very, very disappointing. We won’t be giving up on the UEFA Cup yet, but this was our opportunity to do it (put pressure on Everton).”
On whether persistent speculation surrounding skipper Barry’s future had an effect on the game’s outcome, he said: “I’m sure that it didn’t help. But we can’t use that as an excuse. We should have been better than that.”
Steve Bruce, meanwhile, hailed Wigan’s fine achievement in turning round what looked a lost cause before the turn of the year: “After going into the Blackburn game in December with nine points, to get 31 points this (calendar) year is fantastic for the players.”
Bruce, who claimed to “take no pleasure” in hearing of former employers Birmingham City’s demise at the hands of Fulham, continued: “It’s our home form that has kept us in the league (yesterday’s win was only Wigan’s second on the road this season). But I'm delighted we've managed to get a result in that manner against a very good Villa side who have been playing well.”
“I’m just delighted for the Chairman, and I'm sure the fans are delighted seeing a little town like Wigan staying year after year in the Premier League."
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