Danny Ings struck a fantastic overhead kick to set Aston Villa for deserved 2-0 win over Newcastle in what proved to be a controversial affair at Villa Park.
Aston Villa’s season gets back on track with a brilliant and gritty performance against Newcastle, with fans hoovering up the tense mood inside Villa Park this afternoon.
Villa were just a little lacklustre to start with but resumed to the old normal of last season. The visitors were dominant in the starting minutes, putting Villa on back-foot with Callum Wilson having a free run on goal past Tyrone Mings; thankfully, Emi Martinez spread his arms big enough to deviate Wilson from the target.
Things got a bit scrappy after a while, but quality shone through late in the first-half injury time when Mings flicked the ball from Matty Cash’s long throw only for Danny Ings to soar into the air to unleash a spectacular overhead kick past Freddie Woodman. The strike will probably end up as one of the contenders for the goal of the season.
With that, Villa went calmer and had more composure than Newcastle, who were restricted to only a few turnovers on the afternoon. Newcastle’s misery became Villa’s benefit when, on the hour mark, VAR adjudged that Jamaal Lascelles handled Mings’ header despite the ball very close to the Toon captain, who could not have reacted fast enough.
Anwar El Ghazi stepped up to dispatch the penalty and double the lead for the Villans. Just 15 mins later, the VAR intervened again as Wilson was getting ready to take a spot-kick he won after being rugby tackled by Emi Martinez inside the box to rule that the striker was offside when he raced onto Jacob Murphy’s ball down on the right flank.
It was a fine display by Dean Smith’s men who were without their key players for the game. With the three points in the bag for the Villans, let’s take a look at our player ratings for the hosts.
Emiliano Martinez: 6/10
He made himself big to deviate Wilson to fire sideways early in the game. Martinez wasn’t tested much, thanks to the defence. He was fortunate not to get penalized with a potential red card and penalty, as VAR came to his rescue. That was the only blunder the Argentine made throughout the game.
Matty Cash: 7/10
He was getting a lot of joy on the right flank owing to Newcastle getting narrow, offering him a lot of time on the ball. Newcastle couldn’t handle his long throws which eventually proved deadly resulting in Ings’ goal. He remained solid with his no-nonsense approach but also improved at providing added width going forward.
Ezri Konsa: 7/10
Wilson tried to slip between Villa’s centre-back pairing but was denied by Konsa, who delivered a strong performance. His positional sense is truly remarkable; unlike his partner Mings, you can hardly see him going into last-ditch tackles.
Tyrone Mings: 8/10
Had his heart in his mouth when he let Wilson slip through one on one with the keeper. Wilson was up to the fight against the Villa captain. But ultimately, it was Mings who had the last laugh having a hand in both of Villa’s goals and kept a clean sheet to his credit.
Ashley Young: 7/10
He was selected ahead of Matt Targett at left-back and didn’t disappoint. Young used his experience on the day, and despite being sloppy at times, he was solid defensively and rarely provided Newcastle wing-back Jacob Murphy any room or space to run on.
John McGinn: 7/10
McGinn was covering every yard of grass on Villa Park, rushing forward and getting stuck in. He looked like a goal threat despite sending a couple of attempts well above the crossbar. McGinn was again a positive, and his energy is vital for Villa to push forward constantly.
Douglas Luiz: 7/10
The Brazilian just displayed what Villa were missing in their last game against Watford. He played as a holding midfielder, and his screening was crucial for the Villans to be solid defensively.
Anwar El Ghazi: 7/10
He experienced a messy first half in particular but pressed on, knowing things weren’t going well for him on the left flank. El Ghazi had a few shots go wide, but he got up and kept his nerves to net another cool penalty – he has now scored all of his six penalties in Villa shirt.
Emiliano Buendia: 8/10
He had worked his socks off as Villa saw less possession in the first half. There were glimpses of his playmaking ability as he made three key passes, along with two dribbles and two tackles. He is going to turn out to be a big player for Villa this season.
Jacob Ramsey: 7/10
There were doubts over his credibility to start, but Smith decided to reward him for his lively efforts last week. Ramsey grew as the game went on and looked settled. He was direct with his dribbles and was eager to push Villa up the field whenever he got the ball. A real positive display from him, and he should be a starter for the next game against Brentford.
Danny Ings: 8/10
Ings introduced himself to Villa fans in some style with a stupendous overhead kick. He worked the channels to great effect and was a menace for Federico Fernandez and Lascelles throughout the game. A typical marksman who’s remarkable at finishing off the scraps.
Substitutes
Jaden Philogene-Bidace: N/A
On for Buendia in the 86th minute.
Axel Tuanzebe: N/A
He made his debut after res-igning on loan for the club, came in for Douglas Luiz to see out the final minutes.
Wesley: N/A
Stoppage time substitute for Ings.