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Thursday November 6, 2008 Finished Stadion Eden

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Slavia Praha

Aston Villa

  • Carew 26’
  1. Villa hold on for victory in Prague

    Villa hold on for victory in Prague

    Aston Villa battled valiantly to clinch a 1-0 victory against Slavia Prague and claim three points in the UEFA Cup group stage. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Slavia Praha
    • Aston Villa
    • 90' The full-time whistle has gone and Villa have defended stoically to secure a 1-0 victory. John Carew's goal separated the sides, despite the hosts' second-half dominance.
    • 90' Delfouneso is the final substitute to be introduced, at the expense of match-winner John Carew, who receives a standing ovation from the Villa faithful.
    • 90' All eleven Villa players are boxed in to their own half as Slavia fire in cross after cross, but the English side are defending valiantly.
    • 90' The fourth official signals that three minutes of stoppage time are due. An announcement which hardly pleases Martin O'Neill on the touchline.
    • 88' Gabriel Agbonlahor, who has been very quiet in the second half, but was bright in the first, along with his team-mates, is replaced by Gareth Barry.
    • 87' A powerful run by John Carew alleviates any impending danger for Villa and wins his side a corner, prompting a rousing reception from the travelling supporters.
    • 86' Carlos Cuellar, who has had a fine game, trots slowly over from the left to take a defensive throw-in on the right. Pure gamesmanship, to the annoyance of Slavia coach Karel Jarolim.
    • 85' Nicky Shorey is cynically clipped by Necid as he advanced with the ball, but Guzan is booked instead for time-wasting.
    • 83' Martin O'Neill's side enjoy a good spell of possession - a real rareity in this second half, with Ashley Young and Cuellar particularly adept at keeping the ball.
    • 81' Jarolim slices a shot into the side-netting from close range to give Villa another reprieve after Cerny's powerful run - a very poor finish from the forward.
    • 79' Volesak rises at the back post to head wide from Tavares' cross. Slavia still do not look like scoring despite all of their possession.
    • 78' Ashley Young skips past his marker down the left and delivers a cross which Carew completely fluffs, but the ball then falls to Sidwell who shoots wide from ten yards out.
    • 76' Slavia skipper Brabec commits a foul on the edge of his area, but Nicky Shorey wastes the free-kick, hitting his cross straight at Suchy.
    • 74' Sidwell makes another challenge which the Cypriot referee takes issue with, but the midfielder is warned without further punishment.
    • 72' Agbonlahor indulges in some pretty, but ultimately fruitless weaving down the right for Villa, but he is eventually tackled by Brabec.
    • 70' Villa have been almost entirely under the cosh so far in the second half with Slavia pressing forward relentlessly. Cerny looks to be the hosts' best chance of equalising.
    • 68' Slavia forward Necid towers above Curtis Davies in the Villa penalty area, but his header drifts narrowly wide of Guzan's far post.
    • 65' Slavia make their second substitution of the game - Senkerik replacing Hubacek.
    • 63' Steve Sidwell slides in crudely on Jarolim on the centre-circle and is booked for the offence. It was a needless challenge really.
    • 62' At last we have a meaningful chance in this second half. Volesak charges forward down the right wing and drives a fierce shot across Guzan's goalmouth.
    • 60' Hubacek whips in a cross which is charged down by Nicky Shorey, releasing Agbonlahor, who demonstrates the speed at which the visitors can break on the counter-attack.
    • 58' The home support from Slavia's fans has been very impressive, with the noise unrelenting, but Villa have coped well with the atmosphere so far.
    • 56' Curtis Davies is marshalling the defensive line to good effect, along with Carlos Cuellar, and the pair look composed as Slavia press without success.
    • 53' The second-half has begun scrappily, but Villa won't mind if they can remain as secure as they currently seem defensively.
    • 51' Tavares continues to look bright for Slavia down the left with Curtis Davies at times looking vulnerable, but the hosts have yet to create a clear-cut chance.
    • 48' A well-worked goal for Slavia is adjudged to have been offside as Jarolim stole through, beyond Carlos Cuellar and slid his shot under Guzan. A fractional call from the linesman.
    • 46' The second half is underway in Prague. Can Villa hold on to their 1-0 lead, or better still build on it?
    • 45' That's half-time and Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill must be delighted with his side's composed first-half performance. John Carew could have had a hat-trick with better composure in front of goal.
    • 45' Just the one minute to be added by the Cypriot referee, as Villa end the half positively, inside the Slavia half.
    • 43' The game is settling down as half-time approaches. Ashley Young has another free-kick which Slavia's defenders fail to deal with convincingly.
    • 41' Former Liverpool winger Vladimir Smicer's evening is cut short through a calf injury, with Svento Dusan coming on in his place.
    • 39' A point-blank save by Brad Guzan as Necid strode into the Villa box and shot low to the keeper's left - superb stop from the American keeper.
    • 36' Another glorious chance for Carew to add to his tally for the evening as Agbonlahor played him in, but the striker's toe-poke was tame and Vaniak saves.
    • 34' John Carew brings a sharp stop from Vaniak after Craig Gardner had played the ball back to the striker on the edge of the area.
    • 32' Ashley Young whips in another fine cross, which finds John Carew with pinpoint precision, but the striker was offside as he headed straight at Vaniak from six yards out.
    • 30' Villa have Slavia under the cosh at the moment, but Craig Gardner is given a yellow card for colliding with Vaniak. It looked a 50-50, which the keeper made a big deal of.
    • 28' Ashley Young crashes the far post of Vaniak's goal with a beautifully curling free-kick from the left of the Slavia area - superb effort from Young, who has made a fine start.
    • 26' GOAL!!! Steve Sidwell sees his ambitious shot from the edge of the area, deflect off John Carew and past the helpless Vaniak after a crisp one-two with Ashley Young. Carew has been credited with the goal - Sidwell won't be too happy with that decision.
    • 24' Sidwell makes a fine block on the edge of the Villa box from Suchy's shot. Martin O'Neill's side are not allowing the hosts any time on the ball around their area.
    • 22' Nicky Shorey attempts a highly ambitious free-kick from 25-yards, but it does not test Vaniak, who gathers comfortably.
    • 20' Young is receiving a lot of the ball on the left for Villa, which is a good sign, as he looks to have the beating of Suchy already.
    • 19' Steve Sidwell launches a long free-kick deep into the Slavia box, which Craig Gardner meets crisply with a low volley, but it is straight at the keeper, Vaniak who saves.
    • 16' The fervent home support is being stirred up by men marching up and down the touchline in black t-shirts and microphones, shouting raucously at their fellow fans.
    • 14' A vicious shot from the edge of the area by Tavares brings a fine stop out of Guzan, diving to his right to parry the ball away to safety with Smicer lurking ominously.
    • 12' Most of the Slavia side have earned a mention thus far, with brief forays into the Villa area, and the latest is Jarolim, who latches on to a Necid knock-down, but drives his shot wide.
    • 10' Volesak is coming into the game now, spraying passes around to good effect. Slavia are beginning to look more commanding in possession.
    • 8' Ashley Young, not renowned for his defensive prowess, bravely blocks a driven free-kick by Cerny from inside the Villa half.
    • 6' A terrific attempt for Slavia by Krajcik, who twists and turns his way past Curtis Davies before unleashing a fierce shot which clips the side-netting of Brad Cuzan's goal.
    • 4' Steve Sidwell battles with Brabec in the Slavia area and the ball drops to John Carew, loitering behind him, but the big Norweigan scuffs his shot wide.
    • 2' Ashley Young has an early free-kick, which he whips in but it is deflected for a corner. But Nicky Shorey sloppily hits the first man with it. With Villa's height, set-pieces may be hugely important.
    • 1' Slavia Prague have started the match with just one striker, Necid, with Smicer in support - a defensive set-up for a side at home.
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of the big game in Prague tonight! It's Slavia v Aston Villa... don't miss it! Martin O'Neill has reshuffled his side for the tie, including giving American keeper Brad Guzan only his second start for the club.

  • Team Stats

    Slavia Praha Stats Aston Villa
    64% Possession 35%
    15 Shots 13
    8 Shots on target 5
    4 Saves 5
    5 Corners 3
    18 Fouls 13
    3 Offsides 7
    0 Yellow cards 3
    0 Red cards 0
    22 Tackles 22
    384 Accurate passes 184
    83 Bad passes 70

  • 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
    • Slavia Praha
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      28 Martin Vaniak 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 0 0
      17 Marek Suchy 0 0 0 5 5 0 0 34 1 1
      4 David Hubacek 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 16 1
      3 Erich Brabec 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 36 5 2
      11 Vladimir Smicer 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 8 2 0
      2 Mikael Tavares 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 70 16 8
      10 Marek Jarolim 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 31 4 0
      23 Ladislav Volesak 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 21 8 2
      19 Matej Krajcik 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 28 1 1
      26 Jaroslav Cerny 0 3 2 3 2 0 0 39 9 4
      24 Tomas Necid 0 4 2 0 1 2 0 19 5 2
      9 Goce Toleski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      22 Jakub Divis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      8 Petr Janda 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Tijani Belaid 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 41 7 0
      6 Martin Latka 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Dusan Svento 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14 7 1
      14 Zdenek Senkerik 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 7 2 0
    • Aston Villa
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      22 Brad Guzan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 3 0
      24 Carlos Cuéllar 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 1 0
      21 Nicky Shorey 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 28 18 2
      26 Craig Gardner 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 7 2 6
      15 Curtis Davies 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 13 3 2
      16 Zatyiah Knight 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 3
      4 Steve Sidwell 0 2 0 3 0 0 1 26 14 4
      17 Moustapha Salifou 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 21 8 4
      7 Ashley Young 0 4 1 1 3 0 0 13 8 0
      11 Gabriel Agbonlahor 0 0 0 3 3 2 0 14 3 0
      10 John Carew 1 3 3 5 5 4 0 22 9 0
      5 Martin Laursen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      20 Nigel Reo-Coker 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      2 Luke Young 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      18 Wayne Routledge 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      1 Brad Friedel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      14 Nathan Delfouneso 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      6 Gareth Barry 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1

  • Summary

    • 81' Jarolim slices a shot into the side-netting from close range to give Villa another reprieve after Cerny's powerful run - a very poor finish from the forward.
    • 78' Ashley Young skips past his marker down the left and delivers a cross which Carew completely fluffs, but the ball then falls to Sidwell who shoots wide from ten yards out.
    • 68' Slavia forward Necid towers above Curtis Davies in the Villa penalty area, but his header drifts narrowly wide of Guzan's far post.
    • 62' At last we have a meaningful chance in this second half. Volesak charges forward down the right wing and drives a fierce shot across Guzan's goalmouth.
    • 48' A well-worked goal for Slavia is adjudged to have been offside as Jarolim stole through, beyond Carlos Cuellar and slid his shot under Guzan. A fractional call from the linesman.
    • 39' A point-blank save by Brad Guzan as Necid strode into the Villa box and shot low to the keeper's left - superb stop from the American keeper.
    • 36' Another glorious chance for Carew to add to his tally for the evening as Agbonlahor played him in, but the striker's toe-poke was tame and Vaniak saves.
    • 34' John Carew brings a sharp stop from Vaniak after Craig Gardner had played the ball back to the striker on the edge of the area.
    • 28' Ashley Young crashes the far post of Vaniak's goal with a beautifully curling free-kick from the left of the Slavia area - superb effort from Young, who has made a fine start.
    • 26' GOAL!!! Steve Sidwell sees his ambitious shot from the edge of the area, deflect off John Carew and past the helpless Vaniak after a crisp one-two with Ashley Young. Carew has been credited with the goal - Sidwell won't be too happy with that decision.
    • 19' Steve Sidwell launches a long free-kick deep into the Slavia box, which Craig Gardner meets crisply with a low volley, but it is straight at the keeper, Vaniak who saves.
    • 14' A vicious shot from the edge of the area by Tavares brings a fine stop out of Guzan, diving to his right to parry the ball away to safety with Smicer lurking ominously.
    • 6' A terrific attempt for Slavia by Krajcik, who twists and turns his way past Curtis Davies before unleashing a fierce shot which clips the side-netting of Brad Cuzan's goal.
    • 4' Steve Sidwell battles with Brabec in the Slavia area and the ball drops to John Carew, loitering behind him, but the big Norweigan scuffs his shot wide.
    • - Hello and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of the big game in Prague tonight! It's Slavia v Aston Villa... don't miss it! Martin O'Neill has reshuffled his side for the tie, including giving American keeper Brad Guzan only his second start for the club.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Slavia Praha

    Captain: 10. Vladimir Šmicer

    Starting line-up

    • M. Vaniak
    • M. Krajcík
    • M. Suchý
    • E. Brabec
    • D. Hubácek
    • M. Jarolím
    • M. Tavares
    • L. Volešak
    • J. Cerný
    • V. Šmicer Substitution Out (41′)
    • T. Necid

    Subs

    • M. Latka
    • G. Toleski
    • P. Janda
    • J. Diviš

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • Aston Villa

    Starting line-up

    • B. Guzan
    • Z. Knight
    • C. Cuéllar
    • C. Davies
    • N. Shorey
    • M. Salifou
    • S. Sidwell
    • C. Gardner Yellow Card
    • A. Young
    • G. Agbonlahor Substitution Out (88′)
    • J. Carew Goal Substitution Out (90′)

    Subs

    • M. Laursen
    • B. Friedel
    • L. Young
    • W. Routledge
    • N. Reo-Coker

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None