Fulham 0 Aston Villa 0: Given proves his point

14 August 2011 14:25
Shay Given was the star of the show on his Premier League debut for Aston Villa.[LNB]The Irishman was always going to be a snip at ?3.5million and he proved the point at the first opportunity.[LNB]There is no mystery why Manchester City chose to sell Given, who rates as one of the Premier League's greatest at the very time when, in goalkeeping terms, he is at the peak of his ability and therefore value.[LNB] Beating his man: Fulham's Bobby Zamora shrugs off Richard Dunne[LNB] Fulham 0-0 Villa stats[LNB]It was simply a poor decision by City boss Roberto Mancini.[LNB]That is of no concern to his new boss at Villa, Alex McLeish, who so astutely pounced for a professional who comes with a virtual assurance that he will block a high percentage of what is directed at him.[LNB]Against Fulham's finest he was there to stop Andy Johnson and Bobby Zamora with three point-blank saves.[LNB]It was enough to satisfy McLeish and Villa's travelling fans. But the manager claimed Villa's goalless draw was not quite a one-man show.[LNB]He said: 'Shay has the experience to be in the right place for maximum effect. He did that today. But, overall, our defending was good with people throwing themselves into the action.'We didn't set up not to lose and there were good moments from us as an attacking team. I consider this a very good away point.'[LNB]On the fractious relationship with a segment of Villa's support he added: 'When I walked across the turf I was pleased with their reaction. It seemed they appreciated what the team had done.'[LNB] [LNB]Heads up: Villa's James Collins beats Clint Dempsey to the ball[LNB]If it was the perfect start for Given then it was not for Villa's expensive new boy Charles N'Zogbia, taken off before the end.[LNB] Debut day: Martin Jol (left) and Alex McLeish took charge of their first Premier League games at their new clubs[LNB]McLeish said: 'He was simply running out of steam.'[LNB] [LNB]No way through: Aaron Hughes fends off Gabriel Agbonlahor[LNB]Before that, the French forward had laid on chances and he was certainly not a failure.[LNB]John Arne Riise had a great chance to score for Fulham after 10 minutes when he swept through to collect a pass which he drove over the bar.[LNB] Leaving him for dead: Villa's Marc Albrighton beats Fulham skipper Danny Murphy to the ball and leaves him on the floor[LNB]Fulham boss Martin Jol, back in the Premier League after his sacking by Spurs in 2007, said: 'We looked nervous and didn't keep the ball enough to win it. You can't say 0-0 is a good result but, in the circumstances, perhaps it is.'[LNB] Proving his worth: Shay Given put in a good performance on his Aston Villa debut[LNB]N'Zogbia has the talent to be a Villa favourite on his early form here.[LNB]He cost ?9.5m but laid on what, with a modicum of luck, could have been two goals. Emile Heskey headed the first high over in the 25th minute and John Collins did the same on the half-hour. Fulham needed to find a higher gear and did just that, only to have their way to goal blocked by Given.[LNB] Tipping over: Shay Given saves a shot from Bobby Zamora [LNB]He had blocked Johnson before half-time and was there again a minute into the restart when Damien Duff flicked the ball for Johnson to head to Zamora in front of goal, with only Given to beat.[LNB] My ball: Mark Schwarzer catches the ball under pressure from Emile Heskey[LNB]He may have been offside but the linesman waved play on, with Given there to one-hand the ball over. And in the 64th minute, Given's timing saw him use his feet to turn away another shot from Zamora.[LNB]  Fulham v Aston Villa: How the action unfolded at Craven CottageWatch all the Premier League goals every week on our brilliant video playerClick here for the latest Premier League table, fixtures and results All the latest Fulham news, features and opinionAll the latest Aston Villa news, features and opinion [LNB]

Source: Daily_Mail