Away form pleases Hughes
27 Jan 2008 - 11:54:32
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- Away form pleases Hughes
Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes thought his side deserved to take all three points from the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
David Bentley had a spot-kick saved before Roque Santa Cruz gave the visitors the lead only for Ashley Young to salvage a point for Martin O'Neill's side with 17 minutes left.
Hughes said after the match: "Although this hasn't been a happy hunting ground for us, and beforehand we'd probably have taken a point, I thought we deserved all three.
"We changed our shape and system to try and counteract their threat while creating an attacking threat of our own and it worked well.
"There were some big performances individually, many of them from players who were carrying knocks and slight injuries. We've played 12 Premier League away games now and lost only twice.
"When you consider that one of those was at Old Trafford it shows how well we've done on our travels.
"We need to replicate that sort of return at home and we'll be looking to do so against Everton next weekend.
"We set out to counter Villa's threat from set-pieces and I think I'm right in saying that no-one has scored more than them in such situations this season.
"Although they equalised from one, I thought we handled it well, and to be honest I thought the award of the free-kick that led to their goal was a little harsh. We would call it a soft free-kick.
"There was much to be pleased about in our performance, and the way David Dunn worked so hard not only in support of Roque but also in their defensive work was very pleasing."