Wigan 1 - 2 Aston Villa

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Saturday Dec 29 2007 03:00

Aston Villa again proved to be excellent travellers as they came from behind with a second-half double to end Wigan's recent mini-revival and dump the Latics back into relegation trouble.

Beaten only once on their travels this season, Martin O'Neill's team had to dig deep with Wigan good value for their first-half lead provided by Titus Bramble.

But once Curtis Davies had levelled it up, they refused to settle for a point and finally clinched all three courtesy of leading scorer Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Villa had suffered an early blow at a rain-swept JJB Stadium when striker John Carew had to quit the action after only ten minutes when he was injured in a collision with Paul Scharner.

Wigan carved out the first half chance of the game when Ryan Taylor's free-kick fell to the feet of Marcus Bent six yards out, but he failed to control it and the ball rolled safely to Scott Carson.

Bent then turned provider with a good cross from the right, but Antoine Sibierski snatched at it and the shot went wide.

There was anxiety for Wigan when Scharner gave the ball away with a poor pass to let Agbonlahor in, but the Austria defender reacted well to get back and atone for the mistake.

The Latics threatened again when Taylor had a shot deflected by Olof Mellberg and from the corner they grabbed the lead.

Taylor, compared to David Beckham by manager Steve Bruce for his deadball quality, fired in a beauty and Bramble won the aerial battle with Martin Laursen to head in from six yards to register his first goal for the club.

With skipper Gareth Barry more involved, Villa went chasing an equaliser with Shaun Maloney forcing Chris Kirkland into action with a powerful long-range effort and Ashley Young blazed one across goal.

Wigan had another chance but Sibierski slipped as he went to shoot and at the other end, Maloney failed to cash in on a free-kick after hammering it over the bar.

But Villa levelled it up with a carbon copy of the Wigan goal.

Barry's delivery from the corner was top class and Davies headed in the equaliser on his first league start.

Villa inflicted more suffering when Young got away from Mario Melchiot, crossed from the byline and Agbonlahor took advantage of hesitancy from Bramble and Kirkland to glance home the winner.

Live Commentary

  • 90
    WIGAN 1 - 2 ASTON VILLA: Howard Webb blows the full time whistle and Aston Villa thoroughly deserve the three points after a good second half performance.
  • 90
    Stilian Petrov replaces the injured Ashley Young.
  • 90
    Luke Moore is still chasing the Wigan defence down in the closing minutes and defending from the front for Aston Villa.
  • 90
    The fourth official indicates three minutes of added time.
  • 89
    Titus Bramble is booked for a late tackle on Ashley Young.
  • 88
    Wigan won a free kick around twenty five yards out from goal which Ryan Taylor deflected off the wall and the ball landed on the roof of the net, winning a hopeful corner for the home side.
  • 87
    Martin O'Neill is once again active in his technical area and he is sure to be telling his team to keep possession of the ball and make Wigan work for it.
  • 85
    Wigan make a late surge to grab an equaliser and almost forced a mistake from the reliable Gareth Barry who sliced a clearance and gave away a throw in next to the corner flag.
  • 83
    Aston Villa look in total control of the game so far but they look tired and drained of energy and must continue to play if they are to keep the scoreline the same.
  • 80
    Marcus Bent completes his defensive duties acrobatically with an awkward clearance following Wigan's inability to deal with Gareth Barry's corner.
  • 78
    Scott Carson's goal kick's are proving a useful attacking weapon for Aston Villa as the wind at the JJB is carrying them dangerously nearly the length of the pitch.
  • 77
    Salomon Olembe replaces Denny Landzaat.
  • 76
    Ashley Young is toying with Melchiot down the right and Martin O'Neill will perhaps be a little unhappy that he showboating despite only being one goal infront.
  • 74
    Julius Aghahowa chased a stray ball from Denny Landzaat down the right and did well to win a corner as he rebounded the ball off Martin Laursen.
  • 72
    Marcus Bent is caught offside with Bouma cleverly stepping up and playing off.
  • 71
    Aston Villla have been the much better side in the second half and Ashley Young has shown exactly why he is an England international with a dazzling display.
  • 69
    WIGAN 1 - 2 ASTON VILLA (AGBONLAHOR) Gabriel Agbonlahor flicks the ball home off the far post after a fantastic bit of play from Ashley Young down the left for Aston Villa.
  • 66
    A very theatrical fall from Ashley Young as he collided with Mario Melchiot and claims for a penalty were waved away.
  • 64
    Wilfred Bouma displaying some wonderful defending as he just got a touch on a dangerous ball across the face of goal from Aghahowa.
  • 62
    Craig Gardner is straight into the action as he is deliberately brought down by Michael Brown who must be on his last warning now before he recieves a booking from Howard Webb.
  • 62
    Julius Aghahowa replaces Antoine Sibierski.
  • 61
    Olof Mellberg tries a ridiculous thirty yard shot on the half volley which was unsurprisingly blocked by Kilbane.
  • 59
    Shaun Maloney is replaced by Craig Gardner
  • 57
    Martin O'Neill has readied his substitues who are warming up on the touchline as he looks to make some changes and push his team on for the win.
  • 55
    WIGAN 1 - 1 ASTON VILLA (C.DAVIES) Curtis Davies smashes a header into the back of the net with the aid of a deflection to bring Villa back level.
  • 54
    Aston Villa waste a very good opportunity with Agbonlahor's ball accross the face of the goal just being intercepted by Scharner.
  • 52
    Howard Webb is quick to intervene between Olof Mellberg and Michael Brown as the pair tangled after a tackle had been made.
  • 51
    The rain is thrashing down and it doesn't make the conditions any easier for either side, however Aston Villa have started to play some better football at the start of the second half.
  • 49
    Nigel Reo-Coker tried to chip the ball over the top of the Wigan defence for the pacey Agbonlahor to chase, only for Bramble to muscle the striker away and clear the ball.
  • 47
    Villa's claims for handball against Paul Scharner are waved away by Howard Webb after replays show he clearly handled the ball with his hand.
  • 46
    Wigan win a corner immediately in the second half, but this time Taylor's delivery isn't as good and Villa get it clear to safety.
  • 46
    Aston Villa get the game back under way here at the JJB Stadium.
  • 45
    Howard Webb blows for half time.
  • 45
    The fourth official indicates one minute of added time.
  • 44
    Aston Villa's performance so far has been a far cry from their previous away performances so far this season and Martin O'Neill will be sure to let his players know that at the break.
  • 43
    There is no doubt that Wigan have adapted better to the very poor playing conditions, which is evident through the way they have played so far in the first half.
  • 40
    Dead ball specialist Shaun Maloney could not deliver one of his trademark free kicks and instead the ball flew into the JJB stands.
  • 39
    Paul Scharner should consider himself a very lucky man as he stupidly gave the ball away inside his own half, Ashley Young pounced on the ball and was recklessly brought down by Ryan Taylor just outside the area to win a free kick.
  • 37
    Wigan won another corner with Ryan Taylor's delivery once again precise, but this time the ball bounced around in the penalty area like a pinball and Curtis Davies did tremendously well to block Marcus Bent's shot.
  • 35
    Shaun Maloney tried his luck as he cut inside from the left hand side and drilled a right footed shot at goal, which was dealt with adequately by Kirkland.
  • 35
    Martin O'Neill continues to be animated inside his technical area shouting instructions on the pitch as his side look to start creating chances if they are to get back into the game.
  • 33
    Good work by the danger man Agbonlahor won Aston Villa their first corner of the game, but Gareth Barry's delivery was cleared at the front post by Wigan.
  • 32
    Marcus Bent is lucky to escape without recieving a yellow card after crashing into a tackle on Martin Laursen.
  • 30
    Martin O'Neill has made a slight positional change with Shaun Maloney moving out to the left and Ashley Young playing a little more central.
  • 28
    WIGAN 1 - 0 ASTON VILLA (BRAMBLE) Titus Bramble heads Ryan Taylor's corner into the back of the net to give Wigan the lead.
  • 26
    Wigan are enjoying a good spell of possession with Marcus Bent and Antoine Sibierski putting the Villa defence under some pressure.
  • 23
    Agbonlahor this time cut inside and found some space for a shot on the edge of the area but Kirkland was equal to it and he gathered safely.
  • 21
    Aston Villa once again failed to take advantage of an opening in the Wigan defence with Agbonlahor unsurprisingly getting the better of Kilbane again but this time it was his final ball that was poor.
  • 20
    Ashley Young demonstrated his defence qualities as he back tracked to dispossess Antoine Sibierksi in his own half.
  • 18
    Luke Moore seemed to be brought down on the edge of the area by Paul Scharner but Howard Webb once again waved away the shouts and has done no favours for Aston Villa so far.
  • 18
    Olof Mellberg did well to contain Kevin Kilbane as the Irishman moved towards the byline and looked to cross the ball into the area, but the Swedish defender cleverly forced Kilbane into giving away a goal kick with some good defending.
  • 16
    Gabriel Agbonlahor once again causes Wigan some problems down the right hand side, he danced past one player before Scharner and Bramble combined with each other to prevent the U21 international from getting into the penalty area.
  • 14
    The ball fell to Antoine Sibierski just inside the penalty area for Wigan, but the Frenchman couldn't quite connect with the ball and mishit his shot straight into the hands of Carson.
  • 12
    Aston Villa again on the acendency with Gareth Barry spreading play with a perfect cross-field pass to Agbonlahor, but the striker's cross was cleared from the penalty area by Wigan.
  • 11
    Aston Villa opened Wigan's defence up some what too easily with Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor causing them problems with their pace, but Mario Melchiot did well to get back and block Young's shot.
  • 9
    Luke Moore replaces the injured John Carew.
  • 8
    A half chance for Wigan as Ryan Taylor's corner fell surprisingly to the feet of Bent in the penalty area, who could not react immediately and the ball bounced off his shin and into the safe hands of Scott Carson.
  • 8
    John Carew has pulled up for Aston Villa and looks in some discomfort as he recieved some treatment from the Villa physio.
  • 7
    Wigan win the first corner of the game after some good work from Marcus Bent, but Villa dealt with it easily and Martin Laursen cleared comfortably.
  • 6
    Aston Villa have started very comfortably and look to continue from where they left off at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.
  • 4
    The pitch is cutting up very badly and both sides will have to deal with the poor conditions as the rain also continues to fall here in Wigan.
  • 3
    John Carew sold Paul Scharner for a duck and looked to be brought down by the defender as he looked to advance towards goal, but Referee Howard Webb waved away any shouts for a free kick.
  • 1
    Gabriel Agbonlahor with the first half chance of the game as he broke clear and tried to ambitiously chip the ball over Chris Kirkland's head, but the Wigan 'Keeper plucked it out of the air.
  • 1
    Wigan get the game underway here at the JJB Stadium.
  • 0
    The referee today is Howard Webb (Yorkshire).
  • 0
    Aston Villa are without Zat Knight after the defender had his appeal against his red card at Chelsea turned down, so Curtis Davies replaces him in defence. Wilfred Bouma has recovered from an ankle injury but Stilian Petrov is out with a virus.
  • 0
    Wigan are without Emile Heskey who has failed to recover from a sprained ankle, so Marcus Bent and Antoine Sibierksi continue up front. Jason Koumas also misses out but Ryan Taylor has recovered from a minor knock and does start.
  • 0
    Aston Villa Line-up: Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Davies, Bouma, Maloney, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Carew, Agbonlahor
  • 0
    Wigan Athletic Line-up: Kirkland, Melchiot, Scharner, Bramble, Kilbane, Valencia, Landzaat, Brown, Taylor, Sibierski, Bent

Statistics

Wigan
Shots on target 4
Shots off target 0
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 18
Offsides 4
Corners 7

Aston Villa
Shots on target 4
Shots off target 1
Shots off bar/post 0
Fouls 9
Offsides 2
Corners 5

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