Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Spurs 2 (Up to sixth)

 

Match Report: Aston Villa 0 Spurs 2 (Up to sixth)

We've won this one, but what about the next? Two bad performances and one good one. It seems we are on an up and down hill, where it will end is anybody’s guess. Well, that is how the story goes (so far!).

We are up to six in the league, three points behind Chelski (who are in fourth). One point below the Spammers in 5^th. A good position, but we can't afford any more hiccups.

Our next game is against Newcastle at St James Park, followed by the team in second place, United. We are not out of the woods yet by a long shot.

The weekend of the 4^th, Chelski face WBA, while United take on Brighton. United and Chelski should win their games, however, also that weekend, Leicester Titty will face City. A city win will do us good, provided we beat Newcastle, and the way things have been going for us lately, Nothing is certain.

Again, we've put ourselves in a position where we now have to hold our breath and keep our fingers crossed (hoping that the other teams above us cock-up). But at least we go into the International break with a victory and 3 pts behind fourth place.

Villa succumbing to the Lilywhites.

We responded to our crap-shock Europa League exit and Arsewipe defeat with a hard-fought victory over Villa that keeps us in the hunt for a top-four place.

Hugo Lloris labelled the team a "disgrace" after our 3-0 defeat by Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday that saw us throw away a 2-0 aggregate advantage and left our hopes of qualification for next season's Champions League stuck on our league placing.

Vinicius got his first league goal

Carlos Vinicius' opener and Harry Kane's second-half spot-kick ensured we made the necessary winning response to climb to sixth in the standings, three points behind the Russians in fourth. An interchange of clever passes between Lucas Moura and Kane following a poor clearance by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez allowed Vinicius to put us ahead from close range after 30 minutes. Kane got the second from the penalty spot, sending Martinez the wrong way after being fouled by Matty Cash.

With no Jack Grealish, Villa failed to register a shot until Trezeguet's blocked attempt after 58 minutes. However, after the interval, Anwar el Ghazi's powerful drive into the side-netting was as close as they came.

My thoughts

Following a miserable display in the north London derby last weekend, our season sunk to a fresh low in our humiliating Europa League exit, which led to Mourinho questioning his players' attitude and commitment.

Chairman Levy is observing Mourinho with vengeful vulture eyes and won't hesitate in replacing him if he thought we couldn't make the top four (it is all about money). It has been reported that Mourinho is fighting to keep his job; he responded to this game by naming seven changes that he hoped would bring "positivity" and "fresh minds" at Villa Park, while Gareth Bale sat it out on the bench.

All we've got left now is a possible top-four spot and a chance in the League Cup final against City to win a trophy.

Kane, having played all 120 minutes on Thursday, was deployed slightly behind Vinicius and was successful in finding space between the Villa lines as we probed for an opening during a tight game.

As for Moura, well, he injected energy and directness into the attacking play, but a defensively-uncertain team struggled to find a needed second goal until Cash's reckless tackle gifted Kane the opportunity to get all three points.

I am sure the players, fans, and Mourinho will go into the Internationa break with less sweat dripping from their foreheads. But as I said initially, we are not out of the woods yet, by a long shot. Any more slip-ups and the shit, one way or another, will hit the fan. In other words, we could still end up with egg on our faces (again) and another season with Nothing to show for it.

The stats

We have won six consecutive Premier League away games against Aston Villa.

We have won four of our past five league games - as many as in our 15 games beforehand.

Aston Villa's four-game winless run is their longest of the season. They have scored just one goal during those games.

Villa failed to have a single shot in the opening 45 minutes against us. It's the first time they have been unable to do so in a home league game since April 2014.

Dean Smith's side have won only 17% of Premier League games in which Jack Grealish has not featured this season, compared to a 50% win rate with him in the team.

Harry Kane is the first player to be directly involved in as many as 30 goals in the Premier League this season.

What's next for us?

We are away to struggling Newcastle on Sunday 4^th April (14:05).

At least we can sleep a bit better in our beds tonight and have a comfortable two weeks before we face Newcastle. We can also dream about going from sixth to first (only kidding) to second. There are only 9 points between us and  United, which means we will probably have to win all our games, and United lose all theirs. One of their games is against us at Old Trafford; simples! (I wish!). Remember what Pochettino said; “Nothing is impossible in football, and that is our idea, our philosophy.” I wonder what happened to him? (Excuse my humour!).

Stay safe and dream well; as the song says, “it can only get better,” unless Tottenham try to rewrite the lyrics?

Glenn

COYS!