Saturday April 21, 2012 Day 35 Finished Villa Park
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Villa edge towards safety
Nicklas Bendtner had a goal disallowed as Aston Villa played out a 0-0 Premier League stalemate with Sunderland at Villa Park. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- Aston Villa
- Sunderland
- - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with the weekend's other Premier League games, from 00:01 on Monday morning (UK only).
90'+3 And that's the final whistle! It's been a cagey affair, but in truth neither side covered themselves in glory! It's ended Aston Villa 0 Sunderland 0, but it's another point for Villa as they edge towards safety! Thanks for joining us!- 90'+3 Last minute. Nathan Baker battling away but Larsson will gladly take the throw.
90'+2 Gardner goes in on Albrighton and that's a second yellow and Gardner's off in front of his watching family and his brother on the Villa bench!- 90'+1 Sunderland free-kick midway in the Villa half. Larsson takes it but that's a comfortable clearance.
- 90' There'll be three minutes of added time.
- 89' It's Villa finishing the strongest! Eric Lichaj on the attack, but gives away a cheap foul on Colback! Just what Villa don't need!
87' Villa again come forward. Heskey to Weimann, the Austrian has a sight of the Sunderland goal but delays his shot!! Really should have tested Mignolet, but he elected to cut back to Bannan!- 85' We're in the last five minutes. A goal would surely win it now...
84' Last change for McLeish. N'Zogbia makes way for Barry Bannan.- 83' Teasing cross to the far post by Albrighton, Weimann can't reach it and the chance is gone.
- 82' It's cleared before being played back in by Colback. Big, big header from Cuellar.
- 81' It's another Sunderland corner. Villa under pressure in these closing stages.
- 80' There's the change and it's Bendtner who makes way.
- 80' Sub pending for Sunderland, Fraizer Campbell about to come on.
- 79' Another wayward cross, this time from Herd. Mignolet comes and claims comfortably.
- 78' Sunderland corner. Larsson with another good delivery, flicked on but too high and Villa can clear.
- 76' That's a let-off for Villa as we move into the last 15 minutes.
- 75' BENDTNER!! Larsson with the cross into the edge of the box and the Dane scores!! NO!! The flag's up! That was really close, but just, JUST looked a good decision!
- 74' Heskey with another header on. Weimann races after it, Mignolet spots the danger and gathers just in time!
- 73' N'Zogbia has the ball nicked away from him by Turner. End to end stuff at Villa Park.
- 72' Into the penalty spot, Kilgallon rises, but that's good defending by the hosts.
- 71' Corner to Sunderland off Hutton. Larsson to take.
- 70' Sunderland pressing now as Larsson almost connects with a cross across the box!
- 69' Ball falls to BENDTNER!! He's just yards out, SHOOTS UNDER GIVEN!! Off the line by the sliding IRELAND!! Sunderland inches away from taking the lead!
- 67' Ireland to Heskey. Does well to hold off the challenge. Turns and gets his shot away but slips at the crucial moment and Mignolet makes the save.
66' Bendtner gives the ball away. Flies in with a clumsy challenge on Albrighton and that's a deserved yellow card! He had no chance of getting the ball back there!- 65' Sunderland break with Bardsley. That pass is asking a lot of McLean though! Too much and not even McLean's pace will rescue that one.
- 64' Weimann almost gets in at the near post, only to see the ball hooked clear as he waited to get a shot away.
- 63' There's little creativity on the pitch at the moment. Sunderland are happy to thump the ball away, while Villa just lack the guile to break them down at the moment.
- 62' Mignolet takes no chances with this pass back and thumps the ball downfield.
- 60' The free-kick is driven in but is blocked! Sunderland living dangerously!
- 59' It's certainly a free-kick but ref Taylor has kept his cards in the pocket. The keeper may be a lucky man!!
- 58' Heskey flicks the ball on to Weimann! Mignolet slides out of his box, TOO FAR!! And that's handball! This could be a red card!
- 57' At the other end, it's yet ANOTHER Villa corner! And that's ANOTHER awful delivery! Sunderland have time and space to clear their lines beyond the back post.
- 56' Sessegnon! Jinks past a Villa defender, in comes the whipped cross to MCLEAN!! So close! Just couldn't guide it inside Given's post with a stretching challenge!
- 55' Albrighton takes this one, but it's just as poor!
- 54' N'Zogbia again tries to make inroads. He's overrun that one, but wins a fortunate corner!
- 53' N'Zogbia swings it in, headed clear. Not much of a challenge there.
- 52' Weimann and N'Zogbia link up and they've won a corner. Time for Heskey to shine?
51' Weimann is caught offside. Made the run but needed an earlier delivery.- 50' Again there's a bit of aerial play. Eventually the ball touches down, but Sunderland elect to go backwards. Fair enough, it's Villa who need the points more!
- 49' Cynical chop by Craig Gardner on Chris Herd and that's a yellow card for the Sunderland man!
- 48' And Agbonlahor's day is over! Whatever happened in the dressing room didn't work and Emile Heskey is on!
- 47' Given thumps the ball long. There's a bit of head tennis, the ball is hooked forward to WEIMANN!! He's on the edge of the box!! SIDE-NETTING!! Great chance that one! Should have gone across the keeper though!!
- 46' Villa get the half underway! Where's the breakthrough going to come from?
46' And the teams are out for the second half. No changes at the break!- 45'+2 Hutton makes Given hustle with a back pass, the Villa keeper clears and the ref brings the half to a close. It's Villa 0 Sunderland 0 at the break!
- 45'+1 High, hopeful ball for Agbonlahor, he heads it on but there's no one there to benefit by the box.
- 45' Hutton into the action with a good header that denies the lurking Bendtner as the fourth official signals two added minutes.
- 44' N'Zogbia takes it, it's knocked away but not too far. Played out wide to N'Zogbia again. He has space for a cross, but tries what looks like a shot and Mignolet gathers easily at his near post.
- 44' Weimann drives at the Sunderland defence. Turner keeps a close eye on it and concedes a corner.
- 43' N'Zogbia puts too much on the ball and now Collins has a problem! His day is over and Alan Hutton is on!
- 42' It's another Villa free-kick and another blow on the leg for Agbonlahor! He's in the thick of it here!
- 40' Heskey made a move off the bench, but Agbonlahor is going to continue for the moment at least.
- 39' Agbonlahor hits the deck after a tug back and lands heavily on his shoulder! He looks pained here!
- 38' Ball breaks for Gardner, plays it out to McLean, in comes the cross, BENDTNER!! Heads over from a matter of yards! Great chance, but probably just too high to het the perfect contact!! Sunderland's best chance of the match!!
- 36' It's driven in but only finds Ireland who smacks the ball upfield! Sunderland's set-pieces have been woeful today!
- 35' Cheap free-kick for Sunderland close to the corner flag. McLean will take..
- 34' Martin O'Neill is unbeaten in eight previous Premier League clashes with former club Aston Villa, winning four and drawing four. (Opta Sports)
- 33' Agbonlahor takes on Bardsley and wins, to N'Zogbia, cuts it back to IRELAND!! Snatches at the shot and it flies well over Mignolet's bar!
- 32' Cuellar trying to find a way through. Colback comes in with the perfect tackle. Good defending by the Sunderland man.
- 31' Bendtner goes in unfairly on Collins. Free-kick to Villa deep in their half.
- 30' We've had a third of the match and it's been practically all Villa! Surely a goal is coming soon!
- 29' Albrighton's cross is partially blocked, Weimann picks it up, gets the ball from under his feet and SHOOTS!! Side-netting! Good feet by the Austrian! Created a chance out of nothing!
- 27' Too much on that one and that's wasted by the Swede with four big men in the box waiting for the delivery!
- 26' Carlos Cuellar hands Sunderland another free-kick with a clumsy challenge. Sebastian Larsson is over it.
- 25' Sessegnon cuts the ball back for Bendtner, the shot is charged down and doesn't fall for the waiting Gardner!
- 23' Poor delivery! That must have been a worth a shot, but the ball is played gently into the box and cleared by a relieved Villa.
- 22' Halfway through the first half as Nicklas Bendtner is fouled on the edge of the Villa box! Dangerous position!
- 21' Agbonlahor is crowded out as he tries to get his shot away on the edge of the Sunderland box.
- 19' Applause rings out around Villa Park in the 19th minute for absent skipper, number 19, Stiliyan Petrov who is battling leukaemia. Villa have launched a pie in his honour today to help raise funds for Cure Leukaemia. It contains Bulgarian meat balls.
- 19' Andreas Weimann gets behind the Sunderland defence! He tumbles in the box under Michael Turner's challenge!! NO PEN says the ref! There's no doubt that Turner clipped him but the ref deems it accidental contact! Big call!
- 18' Agbonlahor overruns the ball and clatters Matthew Kilgallon in an attempt to win theball back! That could have been a yellow card, but ref Taylor let it go.
- 17' N'Zogbia runs at Bardsley, eventually manages to get the cross in. He didn't have a great deal of space to deliver that one with Bardsley in attendance and Mignolet claims.
- 16' PHIL BARDSLEY!! Tries his luck from distance but the ball flies well off target and into the crowd!
- 15' At the other end, Given has time and space to pick a Sunderland corner out of the air.
- 14' Again the corner is played out wide and again it's delivered into the mix! Too much on this one though and it drifts out for a Sunderland goal kick.
- 13' N'Zogbia drives at the Sunderland defence. Makes room on the left, drives the ball low and Mignolet has to stretch to palm the ball past the post!! Great effort!!
- 11' This is better though by Sunderland. James Collins is forced into a great tackle in the box, and McLean swings in a dangerous cross just in front of Shay Given.
- 10' Villa have plenty of men behind the ball. Sunderland play ti across the pitch, but no one's' showing for it and a misplaced pass sends Villa away again.
- 9' A bit of possession play from Sunderland. James McLean to Sessegnon on the left, they claim a free-kick but nothing's given. Charles N'Zogbia brings the ball out. Not much in front of him though and he has to check back.
- 8' It's been a great start from Villa! Agbonlahor has come close on three occasions already!
- 7' Corner is played out wide to Marc Albrighton. Swings it in to the back post and it JUST eludes the lurking Agbonlahor!
- 6' Agbonlahor wide on the left, cuts inside and shoots! Good block to concede a corner.
- 5' Sessegnon again. Poor ball and Villa break!
- 4' A few boos for Craig Gardner, ex-Villa man and Birmingham fan. Hardly surprising then!
- 3' Mignolet thumps the ball long. Sessegnon tries to jink through, finds Jack Colback, but he's crowded out and Villa clear.
- 2' Lazy start by the visitors, but Villa clearly see this as the ideal opportunity to pick up three points.
- 1' What a start! Simon Mignolet in the Sunderland goal was sold short by a back pass and Gabriel Agbonlahor almost made the Black Cats pay!!
1' It's Sunderland who get us underway in bright sunshine at Villa Park!!- 14:57 The Wearsiders have been goal-shy here recently. Just six goals in 10 visits to Villa Park.
- 14:56 And here they come! Villa in their traditional claret and blue shirts, white shorts, Sunderland in red and white stripes and black shorts.
- 14:55 So we're waiting for the teams to emerge from the tunnel. There are some nervous faces among the claret and blue fans.
- 14:46 It'll also be interesting to see if we end with 11 v 11. There's been four red cards in the last six matches.
- 14:45 So the stage is set for some serious sibling rivalry! Sunderland's Craig Gardner starts while brother Gary is on the Villa bench.
- 14:39 One change for Sunderland. John O'Shea returns for the injured Kieran Richardson.
- 14:36 McLeish makes four changes to the Villa side that lost 4-0 at Manchester United. Marc Albrighton returns after a thigh injury. Chris Herd is in, while Charles N'Zogbia and Carlos Cuellar make the starting XI. Ciaran Clark miss out, while Alan Hutton, Gary Gardner and Barry Bannan are on the bench.
- 14:34 Martin O'Neill: "The changes that can develop over a weekend, never mind a month, are amazing. I think we really have to concentrate on what we do ourselves. We need results on the board to hold our position. Our game will be very important to Villa, as will their game in midweek."
- 14:34 Alex McLeish has been without the services of striker Darren Bent following an ankle injury, but said: "Darren is bang on course for a full recovery and we are all very pleased about this. The player himself is obviously delighted and he has began to do light running which is good news. He will continue to work under the guidance of (Villa doctor) Dr Ian McGuinness and the medical team."
- 14:33 Stillyan Petrov opened the scoring for Villa in the 20th minute, before Connor Wickham levelled. Richard Dunne thought he had headed the visitors to all three points with six minutes remaining, but Stephane Sessegnon grabbed a share of the spoils in the 88th minute.
- 14:31 October's match at The Stadium of Light ended in a 2-2 draw.
- 14:28 But it's a good time to play Sunderland. O'Neill's men are limping towards the end of the season with no win in four - their worst run since sacking Steve Bruce - and they've failed to find the net in three.
- 14:27 The Wearsiders arrive in the Midlands sitting pretty in a comfy ninth place, but Villa and their present incumbent, Alex McLeish, are currently perched precariously above the drop zone. One win in 11 has seen them gradually reined in by the teams below them.
- 14:23 So, Black Cats boss, Martin O'Neill, returns for the first time to the club he took to three successive sixth-place finishes before leaving just days before the start of the 2010-11 season.
- 14:21 Ore ref today is Anthony Taylor.
- 14:18 The teams are in! ASTON VILLA: Given, Cuellar, Collins, Baker, Lichaj, Albrighton, Herd, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Weimann. Subs: Guzan, Hutton, Warnock, Heskey, Bannan, Gardner, Carruthers. /// SUNDERLAND: Mignolet, O'Shea, Turner, Kilgallon, Bardsley, Larsson, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Campbell, Vaughan, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.
- 14:15 Hello and welcome to our LIVE text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Sunderland from Villa Park.
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Summary
- 90'+2 Gardner goes in on Albrighton and that's a second yellow and Gardner's off in front of his watching family and his brother on the Villa bench!
- 87' Villa again come forward. Heskey to Weimann, the Austrian has a sight of the Sunderland goal but delays his shot!! Really should have tested Mignolet, but he elected to cut back to Bannan!
- 75' BENDTNER!! Larsson with the cross into the edge of the box and the Dane scores!! NO!! The flag's up! That was really close, but just, JUST looked a good decision!
- 74' Heskey with another header on. Weimann races after it, Mignolet spots the danger and gathers just in time!
- 69' Ball falls to BENDTNER!! He's just yards out, SHOOTS UNDER GIVEN!! Off the line by the sliding IRELAND!! Sunderland inches away from taking the lead!
- 67' Ireland to Heskey. Does well to hold off the challenge. Turns and gets his shot away but slips at the crucial moment and Mignolet makes the save.
- 60' The free-kick is driven in but is blocked! Sunderland living dangerously!
- 58' Heskey flicks the ball on to Weimann! Mignolet slides out of his box, TOO FAR!! And that's handball! This could be a red card!
- 56' Sessegnon! Jinks past a Villa defender, in comes the whipped cross to MCLEAN!! So close! Just couldn't guide it inside Given's post with a stretching challenge!
- 47' Given thumps the ball long. There's a bit of head tennis, the ball is hooked forward to WEIMANN!! He's on the edge of the box!! SIDE-NETTING!! Great chance that one! Should have gone across the keeper though!!
- 44' N'Zogbia takes it, it's knocked away but not too far. Played out wide to N'Zogbia again. He has space for a cross, but tries what looks like a shot and Mignolet gathers easily at his near post.
- 38' Ball breaks for Gardner, plays it out to McLean, in comes the cross, BENDTNER!! Heads over from a matter of yards! Great chance, but probably just too high to het the perfect contact!! Sunderland's best chance of the match!!
- 33' Agbonlahor takes on Bardsley and wins, to N'Zogbia, cuts it back to IRELAND!! Snatches at the shot and it flies well over Mignolet's bar!
- 29' Albrighton's cross is partially blocked, Weimann picks it up, gets the ball from under his feet and SHOOTS!! Side-netting! Good feet by the Austrian! Created a chance out of nothing!
- 19' Andreas Weimann gets behind the Sunderland defence! He tumbles in the box under Michael Turner's challenge!! NO PEN says the ref! There's no doubt that Turner clipped him but the ref deems it accidental contact! Big call!
- 16' PHIL BARDSLEY!! Tries his luck from distance but the ball flies well off target and into the crowd!
- 13' N'Zogbia drives at the Sunderland defence. Makes room on the left, drives the ball low and Mignolet has to stretch to palm the ball past the post!! Great effort!!
- 7' Corner is played out wide to Marc Albrighton. Swings it in to the back post and it JUST eludes the lurking Agbonlahor!
- 6' Agbonlahor wide on the left, cuts inside and shoots! Good block to concede a corner.
- 1' What a start! Simon Mignolet in the Sunderland goal was sold short by a back pass and Gabriel Agbonlahor almost made the Black Cats pay!!
- 14:56 And here they come! Villa in their traditional claret and blue shirts, white shorts, Sunderland in red and white stripes and black shorts.
- 14:18 The teams are in! ASTON VILLA: Given, Cuellar, Collins, Baker, Lichaj, Albrighton, Herd, Ireland, N'Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Weimann. Subs: Guzan, Hutton, Warnock, Heskey, Bannan, Gardner, Carruthers. /// SUNDERLAND: Mignolet, O'Shea, Turner, Kilgallon, Bardsley, Larsson, Gardner, Colback, McClean, Sessegnon, Bendtner. Subs: Westwood, Bridge, Campbell, Vaughan, Ji, Meyler, Kyrgiakos.
Team Line-up & Ratings
Aston VillaManager: Alex McLeish
SunderlandManager: Martin O'Neill
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Line-up
Live Team Line-Up
Starting line-up
- S. Given
- C. Cuéllar
- J. Collins
- N. Baker
- E. Lichaj
- C. Herd
- S. Ireland
- M. Albrighton
- C. N'Zogbia
- G. Agbonlahor
- A. Weimann
Subs
- E. Heskey
48′ - S. Warnock
- A. Hutton 43′
- B. Guzan
- B. Bannan 84′
- G. Gardner
- S. Carruthers
Starting line-up
- S. Mignolet
- J. O'Shea
- M. Turner
- M. Kilgallon
- P. Bardsley
- C. Gardner
- J. Colback
- S. Larsson
- J. McClean
- N. Bendtner
- S. Sessegnon
Subs
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Match ratings
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Man of the match
Nicklas Bendtner - Sunderland
The on-loan Sunderland man came closest to deciding a match of few chances, with one shot cleared off the line and a goal disallowed through the tightest of offside decisions.