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Saturday October 18, 2008 Finished Villa Park

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Aston Villa

Portsmouth

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  1. Davis off in Villa stalemate

    Davis off in Villa stalemate

    Sean Davis was sent-off in the second-half as Portsmouth and Aston Villa played out a goalless draw. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Aston Villa
    • Portsmouth
    • 90' And that's it. It's all over at Villa Park. Portsmouth have hung on for a valuable away point despite relentless pressure from the home side in the second half. They could have stolen all the points if Jermain Defoe had brought his shooting boots along with him, but a defeat would have been very hard on the home side.
    • 90' The focus switches to the sidelines because the linesman is bleeding from his head - presumably because he's been hit by something thrown from the crowd. He seems OK though, and after receiving some medical attention is fine to carry on.
    • 90' John Carew hits the bar! The big Norwegian climbed highest for a deep Ashley Young cross from the right, and looped his header towards the top corner. But the ball bounces off the crossbar and out for a goalkick.
    • 89' The corner is cleared out to Milner on the edge of the box, who lashes a right-footed volley wildly over the bar.
    • 88' Carew controls the ball in the box, spins and shoots for goal. But it's deflected wide for a corner.
    • 87' Villa bring on Luke Young for Martin Laursen.
    • 86' Milner then has a great chance to cross from the left wing, but he overhits his cross and it goes well over everyone in the box. Poor by Milner.
    • 86' Utaka has the ball in a good attacking position on the right wing for Portsmouth, but Young makes a great tackle to win back the ball.
    • 84' And Villa almost score from the free-kick awarded for Davis's foul. Young lofted the ball into the area, James came for the ball and dropped it, and the ball bounced across the Pompey goal line. But Sol Campbell was the first to get to the loose ball, hacking it clear of his own line.
    • 83' Pompey immediately make another change after the red card, replacing Defoe with Mvuemba.
    • 82' Sean Davis is sent off after receiving his second yellow card for pulling back Petrov as the Villa man burst forward. Davis can't really have any complaints there.
    • 81' The free-kick is cleverly laid back for Defoe in space inside the area, but the striker smashes his shot miles over the bar again. It's not Jermain Defoe's day.
    • 80' But before the free-kick can be taken, Harry Redknapp makes another change, bringing on Nadir Belhadj for Armand Traore on the left of midfield.
    • 80' Portsmouth win a free-kick two yards outside the Villa box after a foul on Bouba Diop. This is a good chance.
    • 80' ...which again comes to nothing. But the second ball is pumped in towards Agbonlahor's head. But the striker collides with James as the goalkeeper punches clear. Agbonlahor looks dazed, but is okay to carry on.
    • 79' Milner has a cross from the right cut out for ANOTHER Villa corner.
    • 78' Young curls it towards the far post, but James saves easily and holds on to the ball.
    • 77' Diop is booked for hacking down Young as the winger ran towards goal. Villa have a free-kick within shooting range on the left side of the pitch. Young scored from about this position earlier this season.
    • 74' Harry Redknapp brings on John Utaka for Glen Little on the right wing.
    • 73' Which Villa yet again fail to do anything with.
    • 72' Agbonlahor powers down the right wing and crosses to the near post, but Campbell cuts the ball out and clears for another corner.
    • 71' Sol Campbell takes a big risk as he turns with the ball in his own box, but he gets away with it and clears.
    • 68' David James spills a cross and concedes an unnecessary corner.
    • 66' Young does just that, but Campbell heads clear.
    • 65' Glen Little hauls down Agbonlahor on the left wing. This is another chance for Villa to cross into the Pompey box.
    • 62' Ashley Young is booked for dissent after he questions a decision by Mike Riley a little too vehemently.
    • 61' Barry bombs forward from left-back and crosses the ball into the Pompey area towards the far post. Pamarot heads the ball out for a corner. But again Villa fail to make anything of the set-piece opportunity.
    • 59' Sean Davis is booked for a late tackle.
    • 59' Great chance for Villa! Young had the ball nicked off him on the edge of the box. But the ball fell perfectly for Re-Coker in space on the left side of the Pompey box. Reo-Coker shot - but it flashed straight across the goal and went for a throw.
    • 54' The resulting corner is cleared but Portsmouth get caught out as they attempt to break. Petrov found Ashley Young in space on the left wing, but the winger pulled a right-footed shot wide of David James's near post.
    • 53' The corner's cleared but only to Petrov, who crosses the ball back into the area. It misses everyone and falls for Young, who whips a great cross into the near post, but Campbell heads behind.
    • 52' Sean Davis concedes a corner as he cuts out a cross into the Pompey area from the left.
    • 48' Ashley Young takes a tumble in the box after a challenge from Bouba Diop. Should that have been a penalty? Mike Riley says no. Young then gets up and bundles into Diop to concede a free-kick just outside the box.
    • 46' We're under way again at Villa Park.
    • 45' Mike Riley brings the first half to a close. Villa have had the bulk of possession, but Portsmouth had the outstanding chance of the half when Traore hit the post and Defoe missed when it seemed easier to score.
    • 44' Little again tees up Crouch with a teasing cross from the right, but the England striker heads the ball tamely into Friedel's hands.
    • 43' The cross causes chaos in the box, but eventually Pompey hack it clear.
    • 42' Ashley Young shows great skill to skip past Glen Johnson on the left wing. The defender then cynically trips the winger. Mike Riley rightly books Johnson.
    • 39' Barry clears the delivery to Traore, who cuts on to his left foot on the edge of area and goes for goal again. This time is dribbles well wide.
    • 39' Now Curtis Davies concedes a corner at the other end.
    • 37' Sol Campbell needlessly concedes a corner with a misplaced backpass. But again Pompey clear from Barry's cross.
    • 34' Now Villa have a free-kick 40 yards out wide on the left. Young whips it in, it's headed back into the box from the byline, but Barry heads over.
    • 32' Pompey have the chance to get the ball into the box again with a free-kick 45 yards from goal. It's pumped high into the area - but goes out for a Villa goal kick.
    • 29' Portsmouth hit the post - and then Defoe misses an open goal! Extraordinary stuff. First, Traore struck the upright with a low drive from the left of the penalty area towards the near post. The ball crashed back off the post and hit Friedel on the back. The ball looked to be going in, but it was cleared off the line by Curtis Davies, only to fall for Defoe, who scissor-kicked the ball into row Z from five yards out with the goal gaping and the goalie prone on the floor.
    • 27' It's all a bit tentative at the moment. Villa look like they could trouble Sol Campbell and co with their pace but they're not committing many men forward at this stage. Portsmouth look sharp when they have the ball, but they seem happy for Villa to have the bulk of possession.
    • 26' Barry curls the ball into the box, but James comes off his line and collects the ball at the second attempt.
    • 25' Milner wins a free-kick for Villa wide on the right near the corner flag.
    • 23' Barry curls it in but Diop heads clear.
    • 22' Villa win a corner on the right.
    • 19' Portsmouth work the ball nicely to the right flank again, this time to Sean Davis in space. But the midfielder overhits his cross into touch.
    • 18' Defoe feeds Crouch into space on the edge of the Villa box, but the big man's shot flies over.
    • 16' Great chance for Villa - but it's squandered by Curtis Davies. The centre-half was up from the back for a free-kick delivered into the box by Gareth Barry. Villa skipper Martin Laursen headed the ball on in the box, the ball fell nicely for Davies, but the defender walloped his shot well over the bar from five yards out.
    • 12' Agbonlahor makes another lively run on the left wing, but Glen Johnson just nicks the ball off him.
    • 10' The next corner is cleared by Portsmouth.
    • 9' The corner is met on the volley at the near post by a Villa player, but it flies over the bar. What a chance. The ref gives another corner - there must have been a deflection.
    • 8' Villa win a corner as Agbonlahor makes a run down the left wing which is stopped by a Sol Campbell tackle.
    • 7' Carew hits a dipping volley from the edge of the box, but it goes wide of David James's left-hand post.
    • 4' Chance for Pompey. Glen Little found himself in all sorts of space on the right wing. His cross looked destined to be buried into the net by Peter Crouch's head, but Curtis Davies just got a touch on the ball to deflect it out of the striker's reach. The ball then fell to Sean Davis in the area, but his low shot was easily gathered by Brad Friedel in the Villa goal.
    • 3' Portsmouth won this game 3-1 last season with the help of two cracking goals from Sulley Muntari. He's not with them any more, but they've made a confident enough start to this match - especially considering that their last away match was that 6-0 defeat against Man City.
    • 2' Pompey's main piece of team news also involves full-backs, with Noe Pamarot being preferred to summer signing Belhadj at left-back.
    • 1' And the first thing to note is that Villa are playing four at the back, with Cuellar at right-back and Barry at left-back.
    • 1' Mike Riley's in charge this afternoon. He blows his whistle to get us going.
    • - The teams are on the pitch at Villa Park.
    • - The interesting team news is in Villa's line-up, which includes no recognised full-backs. Luke Young and Nicky Shorey are both left on the bench, with summer signings Carlos Cuellar and James Milner coming in. That seems to suggest that Villa will play with three at the back - Davies, Cuellar and Laursen - with Barry and Milner as wing-backs. Alternatively, if they stick to their usual 4-3-3, then Barry must be playing at left-back with either Cuellar or Davies at right-back.
    • - Neither of these sides have been badly affected by injuries while their players have been away on international duty. There was a doubt about Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor after he limped off in the England under-21s win over Wales on Tuesday, but he is fit to play. Pompey's Younes Kaboul, injured while playing for France under-21s, isn't fit to be included, however.
    • - Welcome to LIVE coverage of Villa v Portsmouth as the Premier League gets going again after the international break.

  • Team Stats

    Aston Villa Stats Portsmouth
    50% Possession 49%
    13 Shots 8
    2 Shots on target 3
    3 Saves 1
    11 Corners 2
    19 Fouls 19
    0 Offsides 0
    1 Yellow cards 2
    0 Red cards 1
    29 Tackles 26
    259 Accurate passes 257
    76 Bad passes 23

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Aston Villa
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Brad Friedel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2 0
      15 Curtis Davies 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 24 1 2
      24 Carlos Cuéllar 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 18 1 2
      5 Martin Laursen 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 24 7 1
      19 Stilian Petrov 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 39 7 9
      20 Nigel Reo-Coker 0 1 0 5 5 0 0 21 5 5
      6 Gareth Barry 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 56 20 3
      8 James Milner 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 15 1 1
      7 Ashley Young 0 2 1 3 5 0 0 15 14 4
      11 Gabriel Agbonlahor 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 8 0
      10 John Carew 0 4 1 7 0 0 0 23 9 1
      9 Marlon Harewood 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      26 Craig Gardner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      4 Steve Sidwell 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Brad Guzan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      2 Luke Young 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 1
      21 Nicky Shorey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      16 Zatyiah Knight 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Portsmouth
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 David James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 0 0
      23 Sol Campbell 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 13 0 4
      30 Armand Traore 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 16 6 1
      5 Glen Johnson 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 27 1 1
      16 Noe Pamarot 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 2 4
      15 Sylvain Distin 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 12 1 2
      8 Papa Bouba Diop 0 0 0 3 5 0 0 38 1 2
      28 Sean Davis 0 1 1 4 0 0 0 42 4 4
      25 Glen Little 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 19 1 4
      9 Peter Crouch 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 15 0 0
      14 Jermain Defoe 0 4 1 2 2 0 0 12 3 0
      17 John Utaka 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 13 0 2
      39 Nadir Belhadj 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2 1
      11 Jerome Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      27 Nwankwo Kanu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      7 Hermann Hreidarsson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Jamie Ashdown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Arnold Mvuemba 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 2 1

  • Summary

    • 90' The focus switches to the sidelines because the linesman is bleeding from his head - presumably because he's been hit by something thrown from the crowd. He seems OK though, and after receiving some medical attention is fine to carry on.
    • 90' John Carew hits the bar! The big Norwegian climbed highest for a deep Ashley Young cross from the right, and looped his header towards the top corner. But the ball bounces off the crossbar and out for a goalkick.
    • 84' And Villa almost score from the free-kick awarded for Davis's foul. Young lofted the ball into the area, James came for the ball and dropped it, and the ball bounced across the Pompey goal line. But Sol Campbell was the first to get to the loose ball, hacking it clear of his own line.
    • 82' Sean Davis is sent off after receiving his second yellow card for pulling back Petrov as the Villa man burst forward. Davis can't really have any complaints there.
    • 81' The free-kick is cleverly laid back for Defoe in space inside the area, but the striker smashes his shot miles over the bar again. It's not Jermain Defoe's day.
    • 54' The resulting corner is cleared but Portsmouth get caught out as they attempt to break. Petrov found Ashley Young in space on the left wing, but the winger pulled a right-footed shot wide of David James's near post.
    • 29' Portsmouth hit the post - and then Defoe misses an open goal! Extraordinary stuff. First, Traore struck the upright with a low drive from the left of the penalty area towards the near post. The ball crashed back off the post and hit Friedel on the back. The ball looked to be going in, but it was cleared off the line by Curtis Davies, only to fall for Defoe, who scissor-kicked the ball into row Z from five yards out with the goal gaping and the goalie prone on the floor.
    • 16' Great chance for Villa - but it's squandered by Curtis Davies. The centre-half was up from the back for a free-kick delivered into the box by Gareth Barry. Villa skipper Martin Laursen headed the ball on in the box, the ball fell nicely for Davies, but the defender walloped his shot well over the bar from five yards out.
    • 9' The corner is met on the volley at the near post by a Villa player, but it flies over the bar. What a chance. The ref gives another corner - there must have been a deflection.
    • 4' Chance for Pompey. Glen Little found himself in all sorts of space on the right wing. His cross looked destined to be buried into the net by Peter Crouch's head, but Curtis Davies just got a touch on the ball to deflect it out of the striker's reach. The ball then fell to Sean Davis in the area, but his low shot was easily gathered by Brad Friedel in the Villa goal.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Mike Riley

  • Aston Villa

    Captain: Martin Laursen

    Starting line-up

    • B. Friedel
    • C. Cuéllar
    • M. Laursen Substitution Out (87′)
    • N. Reo-Coker
    • C. Davies
    • G. Barry
    • J. Milner
    • A. Young Yellow Card
    • S. Petrov
    • G. Agbonlahor
    • J. Carew

    Subs

    • L. Young Substitution In87′
    • M. Harewood
    • Z. Knight
    • N. Shorey
    • C. Gardner
    • B. Guzan
    • S. Sidwell

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • Portsmouth

    Captain: Sol Campbell

    Starting line-up

    • D. James
    • G. Johnson Yellow Card
    • S. Campbell
    • S. Distin
    • A. Traore Substitution Out (80′)
    • G. Little Substitution Out (74′)
    • S. Davis Red Card
    • P. Diop
    • N. Pamarot
    • J. Defoe Substitution Out (83′)
    • P. Crouch

    Subs

    • N. Kanu
    • H. Hreidarsson
    • J. Ashdown
    • J. Utaka Substitution In74′
    • N. Belhadj Substitution In80′
    • J. Thomas
    • A. Mvuemba Substitution In83′

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

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