It was a much improved performance during the first half, and fans crying out for a 4-4-2 system will be quick to point out that was the case today with Marc Albrighton on the right and Charles N’Zogbia on the left. However, it has to be said that Bolton looked entirely worthy of the 19th place they held in the league coming into this one.

Still, by the break, with scoreline reading 2-0, it had been a very even encounter statistically, we had just done a much better job of carving out chances whilst Bolton struggled to do much of anything in the final third. In truth, we could, and probably should, have been another goal or two ahead.

The opening goal was superb. Following a brief spell of possession, Chris Herd found Gabby in space on the left and though his square ball was just behind Darren Bent, Marc Albrighton had got himself in position to fire in from close range.

Stiliyan Petrov chalked up his third of the season with another shot from distance, this time taking a slight nick off of Gary Cahill on the way in. As they say, they all count.

Bolton looked much brighter after the break and you might say that the goal, as typical as it was for us to concede, was coming. Zat Knight attempted to stroke in from a corner only for the ball to disappear into the crowded box. Lines were not cleared, Klasnic pounced to stab past the helpless Guzan.

A typically nervy last half hour then. Bolton pushed for an equaliser, but always looked vulnerable on the counter. In truth, both sides created chances they should have done better with, but neither side were able to alter the scoreline.

So, a much needed win, the first away from Villa Park this season, and obvious positives can be extracted. That said, Bolton looked truly awful during much of the first half and we were gifted a number of chances that we should have buried. Other teams, notably the ones coming up, will not be so generous.

Nevertheless, it’s three points in the bag, a rare experience this season, so let’s just soak it up and enjoy it for now. If it’s belief and confidence that we really need, I hope everyone involved extracts what they need from this and takes it into the remaining games of the year.

Key Events Timeline

93′ YELLOW CARD Marc Albrighton.
90′ YELLOW CARD Gabby Agbonlahor.
81′ SUBSTITUTION Darren Bent off, Emile Heskey on.
79′ SUBSTITUTION Ivan Klasnic off, David Ngog on.
71′ SUBSTITUTION Tuncay off, Gael Kakuta on.
55′ GOAL Ivan Klasnic. Zat Knight’s scuffed shot from a corner went into a crowd, pinged around, lines not clear, Klasnic stabbed in from close range.
39′ GOAL Stiliyan Petrov.
33′ GOAL Marc Albrighton. Ball moved to the left where Gabby had drifted wide, his cut back behind Bent, who got a steadying touch on it, before Marc Albrighton banged it in.
27′ YELLOW CARD Mark Davies.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Tuncay, M Davies, Pratley, Eagles, K Davies, Klasnic. Subs: Bogdan, Steinsson, Muamba, Petrov, Kakuta, O’Halloran, Ngog.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Albrighton, Herd, Petrov, N’Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Marshall, Clark, Ireland, Bannan, Delfouneso, Weimann, Heskey.

Worryingly, Shay Given was carried off after his hamstring went shortly before half time. Brad Guzan didn’t have much to do, not really, but we’ll probably get to see him in goal for a few games now.

Chris Herd also limped off, although he may have just been feeling sorry for himself after a less than awesome display. Jermaine Jenas was also replaced due to injury, it looked like something in his ankle went and he’ll surely be out again now.

Charles N’Zogbia was excluded from the squad to sit on the naughty step for missing some appointment or other during the week. Details are sketchy.

Phil Jones got the only goal. It was tame. Nani romped into space behind Alan Hutton and sat a nice ball up for Jones to volley in from close range unchallenged. Simple enough.

There was the usual running about a bit at the end, but it was aimless and delivered no more than it deserved. This is beyond tedious now. Barcelona are currently 2-0 up against Levante, I’m going to watch that. At least there’s some joy there.

Timeline: Key Events

79′ SUBSTITUTION Ashley Young off / Danny Welbeck on.
64′ SUBSTITUTION Rio Ferdinand off / Ryan Giggs on.
64′ SUBSTITUTION Jermaine Jenas off / Emile Heskey on. Injury.
59′ SUBSTITUTION Chris Herd off / Stiliyan Petrov on. Herd limped straight off down the tunnel.
38′ SUBSTITUTION Shay Given off / Brad Guzan on. Hamstring.
20′ GOAL Phil Jones. Nani in behind Hutton, a simple cross into the box, Phil Jones volley’s calmly in unmarked.
12′ SUBSTITUTION Javier Hernández off / Antonio Valencia on. Ankle injury.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Herd, Jenas, Albrighton, Bannan, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Cuellar, Clark, Delph, Petrov, Ireland, Heskey.

Man Utd: Lindegaard, Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Jones, Rooney, Young, Hernandez. Subs: De Gea, Evans, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Valencia, Welbeck.

Villa looked better after the break, with Gabby Agbonlahor once again showing the way in the final third. One or two chances were created, the ball was passed around a bit, but it wasn’t until Jermaine Jenas and Barry Bannan came on that we got to see a little creativity.

The best two chances of the game probably fell to Leroy Lita, but neither side will look to many opportunities squandered with regret. In the end, given the news that overshadowed the match, the outcome was one many would have hoped for.

There is still much work to be done with this Villa side though, the shackles firmly placed on the team during the opening spell; a game plan seemingly being to make it half time level and then go from there.

The fans crave more adventure.

Timeline: Key Events

93′ YELLOW CARD James Collins.
82′ SUBSTITUTION Nathan Dyer off / Wayne Routledge on.
79′ SUBSTITUTION Fabian Delph off / Barry Bannan on.
69′ SUBSTITUTION Emile Heskey off / Jermaine Jenas on.
67′ YELLOW CARD Gary Monk.
53′ SUBSTITUTION Danny Graham off / Leroy Lita on.
42′ YELLOW CARD Ashley Richards.
37′ YELLOW CARD Richard Dunne.
27′ SUBSTITUTION Angel Rangel off / Ashley Richards on.
15′ YELLOW CARD Alan Hutton.
8′ SUBSTITUTION Scott Sinclar.
3′ YELLOW CARD Fabian Delph.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Monk, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Allen, Dyer, Gower, Sinclair, Graham. Subs: Dobbie, Routledge, Lita, Moore, Tremmel, Richards, Moras.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Herd, Delph, N’Zogbia, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Clark, Cuellar, Bannan, Albrighton, Jenas, Delfouneso.

Emmanuel Adebayor helped himself to a first half brace, but should have had at least a hat-trick during a game that Tottenham barely had to break a sweat to dominate. In fairness, such was the gulf in quality, we should consider ourselves fortunate to have left with the score only 2-0.

There were rumours before kick off that Alex McLeish intended to field Alan Hutton as a right midfielder and Carlos Cuellar behind him at right back to deal with the threat of Gareth Bale and that’s what he did. Unfortunately, Spurs have one or two other decent players and that defensive set up achieved very little.

That’s about all I have to say right now, the only one to come out with much credit is Chris Herd. It was a shockingly poor performance all round; McLeish’s Birmingham side had a greater say in this same fixture on the final day of the season; the game that sealed their fate.

I’m not making that up. Last season, Birmingham had 32% possession and attempted 285 passes with a completion rate of 69%. Tonight, we enjoyed just 30% possession and attempted 252 passes with a 70% completion rate. We did at least resort to the long ball less frequently than Birmingham in the same game last season: 18% to their 21%.

According to Opta, and they kinda know these things, our three efforts on goal tonight (only one of them on target by the way) was our lowest in a Premier League game during the last six seasons. That’s some achievement.

Anti-football. Defeatist. It got exactly what it deserved: nothing.

Embarrassing.

Timeline: Key Events

90′ SUBSTITUTION Luka Modric off / Sandro on.
87′ SUBSTITUTION Chris Herd off / Fabian Delph on.
85′ YELLOW CARD Stiliyan Petrov.
70′ SUBSTITUTION Rafael Van der Vaart off / Jermaine Defoe on.
64′ SUBSTITUTION Carlos Cuellar off / Barry Bannan on.
44′ YELLOW CARD Chris Herd.
40′ GOAL Adebayor. Bale got the beating of Cuellar without too much trouble, crossed to the near post where James Collins dived in to clear, but missed only for the ball to loop over Given to the waiting Adebayor to tap into an empty net.
14′ GOAL Adebayor. It was coming too. Unmarked with a bicycle kick if you please. Where was James Collins at the time? You tell me.

Tottenham: Friedel, Walker, King, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Modric, Parker, Bale, Van der Vaart, Adebayor. Subs: Cudicini, Bassong, Gallas, Sandro, dos Santos, Pienaar, Defoe.

Aston Villa: Given, Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Hutton, Petrov, Herd, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Clark, Delph, Ireland, Bannan, N’Zogbia, Weimann.

Qualification for the knock-out phases of the NextGen series will have to wait after Villa’s U19s failed to get a result in Norway, losing 3-2 to Rosenborg.

Derrick Williams cancelled out Ole Kristian Selnæs’ 29th minute opener from a Samir Carruthers corner in the 39th minute. Daniel Johnson sent the visitors into the break 2-1 ahead just minutes later with a wicked shot from a tight angle.

Selnæs struck again to tie the game up in the 70th minute with his shot taking a big deflection leaving Calum Barrett in the Villa goal no chance. Mushaga Bakenga grabbed the winner for the home side with 11 minutes left on the clock.

The Young Lions were without Benjamin Siegrist and Gary Gardner, both away with their nation U21 sides for Euro 2013 U21 qualifiers.

Villa hold on to second place in Group 3 with just Ajax left to play at Villa Park on November 22nd. Rosenborg have away trips to Fenerbahce and Ajax remaining.

Group 3 Standings

Norwich opened the scoring, slightly against the run of play at the time, thanks to a superbly hit free kick from outside the box by Anthony Pilkington. Shay Given had no chance; top corner it went.

Darren Bent made it 1-1 five minutes later after great work down the left by Gabby Agbonlahor, who squared across the face of goal and Bent did what he does best inside the six yard box.

Gabby made it 2-1 after his persistence chasing a lost cause paid off and a poor back pass by Leon Barnett set up the opportunity to get to the ball before Norwich keeper Ruddy. Gabby nicked the ball inside, off the charging keeper’s toes, before passing into an empty net.

Bent struck again just after the hour mark, fulfilling his promise that one goal will lead to more, finishing off another brilliant cross from Gabby, this time from the right.

Steve Morison jangled home nerves by making it 3-2 with 13 minutes to go, somewhat spoiling the debut of Jermaine Jenas, who came on for Emile Heskey, and the introduction of Stephen Ireland, replacing Stiliyan Petrov. Petrov headed straight down the tunnel, a hamstring injury being the early word.

It was a frantic closing ten minutes then, but in the end Norwich’s desperate attempts to get back level were resisted.

Timeline: Key Events

90′ YELLOW CARD Grant Holt.
77′ GOAL – Steve Morison.
77′ SUBSTITUTION Aston Villa: Stiliyan Petrov off / Stephen Ireland on.
76′ SUBSTITUTION Norwich: Wes Hoolahan off / Simeonn Jackson on.
75′ YELLOW CARD Anthony Pilkington.
67′ SUBSTITUTION Aston Villa: Emile Heskey off / Jermaine Jenas on.
63′ SUBSTITUTION Norwich: Elliott Bennett off / David Fox on.
62′ GOAL – Darren Bent finishes Gabby Agbonlahor’s superb cross from the right.
48′ GOAL Gabby Agbonlahor – capitalised on poor back pass.
45′ YELLOW CARD – Leon Barnett.
45′ YELLOW CARD – Andrew Crofts.
35′ SUBSTITUTION Norwich: Bradley Johnson off / Andrew Crofts on. Injury.
34′ YELLOW CARD – Charles N’Zogbia.
33′ YELLOW CARD – Wes Hoolahan.
30′ GOAL Darren Bent – Great work from Gabby Agbonlahor down the left, fierce low cross across the face of goal, finished by Bent from six yards.
25′ GOAL Anthony Pilkington – Direct free kick from outside the box to the top corner.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, Petrov, Herd, N’Zogbia, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Clark, Cuellar, Delph, Jenas, Ireland, Albrighton.

Norwich: Ruddy, Naughton, Barnett, Martin, Tierney, Bennett, Johnson, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Morison, Holt. Subs: Rudd, De Laet, Fox, Crofts, Surman, Jackson, Wilbraham.

It was so nearly a vital three points for Alex McLeish away from home thanks to goals from Stiliyan Petrov and what should have been a late winner from Richard Dunne to cancel out Conor Wickham’s first half leveller.

Unfortunately, the familiar sight of a late goal coming from a set piece returned when 5’7″ Stéphane Sessègnon helped himself to a free header with one minute of normal time left on the clock.

How typical.

Stiliyan Petrov opened the scoring with another screamer from distance in the 20th minute, capping a great break that started on the left, but switched to the right thanks to a superb cross field pass from Gabby Agbonlahor.

Alan Hutton got the assist with his neat ball inside to Petrov, but later ruined what was his best performance in claret and blue by losing Sessegnon on the turn. The former PSG man fed Wickham in acres of space to slot home for his first Premiership goal to make it 1-1.

But James Collins and Dunne combined to nod in a free kick with five minutes remaining; Collins getting to the ball first, Dunne getting the final touch before hitting the back of the net.

Ex-Blue Seb Larsson gave away that free kick after a silly incident with Gabby, but made up with it with his delivery for the late equaliser. It would be a crushing blow if it weren’t for the tragic inevitability of it.

There were some good performances. Chris Herd impressed again, showing what an intelligent player he is with his positional sense. Charles N’Zogbia was the most lively I think we’ve seen him. Hutton looked much improved until the fatal mistake; he’s very easily turned.

Petrov was excellent in the middle, his goal was quite superb. Emile Heskey looked better when switched to the middle with Gabby moved out wide, but it’s difficult to understand why he’s playing something so close to a midfield role with better suited players left on the bench.

Darren Bent had a sitter well saved by substitute keeper Westwood, on in place of Mignolet whose bloody nose came off second best in a clash with Emile Heskey. Bent also had a slightly controversial foul called against him which would have seen him clean through on goal without Chris Foy’s whistle.

I don’t know what happened, but Kevin MacDonald ended up being sent to the stand as a result. I presume he was enraged by Foy allowing so much to go during the first half (including an obstruction on N’Zogbia in the build up to Wickham’s goal), but pulling Bent back on this occasion thanks to the waving of the linesman’s flag.

Why does that feel so familiar?

Something else that’s familiar; another game, another draw. Not an unfair result on balance, better than the last two results, but one that still stings since the points were there for the taking.

Sunderland: Mignolet (Westwood 53′), Brown, Turner, O’Shea (Bardsley 36′), Richardson, Colback, Vaughan (Meyler 82′), Larsson, Sessegnon, Wickham, Bendtner. Unused subs: Cattermole, Gardner, Dong-won, Elmohamady.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Herd, Petrov, Heskey, N’Zogbia (Albrighton 88′), Agbonlahor, Bent. Unused subs: Guzan, Clark, Cuellar, Delph, Ireland, Delfouneso.

You might not have been alive the last time West Brom left Villa Park with three points: it was May 11th 1979. In fairness, we’ve only played in the same league 12 seasons since then, which reduces the chances of losing somewhat, but then we also didn’t have to endure Phil Dowd refereeing.

Actually, Dowd may have officiated one of those games for all I know, but I do know that he made us play with 10 men today in some highly dubious circumstances. I’ve yet to see a decent replay, but Chris Herd was shown a straight red for what the linesman perceived as a stamp on Jonas Olsson, but actually just looked like a tangle of legs.

I’ll stand to be corrected, but from what I’ve seen so far it looks like an atrocious decision and although Chris Brunt’s resultant effort from the spot was equally bad, missing the goal by yards, there’s no question that the ejection blew the wind out of our sails.

It started well enough, although Darren Bent’s blast over the bar from eight yards proved costly in the end, it was Bent who opened the scoring from the spot himself in the 23rd minute. The penalty won in arguably fortuitous circumstances after Gabby Agbonlahor nicked in get a toe on the ball just before Ben Foster, who then took the striker out.

Olsson made it 1-1 during first half injury time with a strong header from Brunt’s corner, Given had no chance of keeping it out of the top corner. Paul Scharner grabbed the second, again from a corner; leaping on a loose ball to half-volley in off the underside of the crossbar.

Some sides play better when reduced to 10, we’re not one of them. N’Zogbia was withdrawn on the hour mark, Emile Heskey his replacement. Marc Albrighton got the last 13 minutes in place of Barry Bannan. It made no difference, we never looked likely of getting back on terms.

One positive: Carlos Cuellar got on the pitch just before the break, replacing Alan Hutton who picked up a head injury. Otherwise, Bannan looked good when he had the ball in the final third, Herd was doing a solid, if slightly overly exuberant, job in the centre of the park.

That’s about it and the result will trump it all. The reaction will be very interesting.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton (Cuellar 41′), Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Petrov, Herd (Sent off 35′), N’Zogbia (Heskey 61′), Bannan (Albrighton 78′), Agbonlahor, Bent. Unused subs: Guzan, Clark, Ireland, Delfouneso.

West Brom: Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Jones, Brunt, Scharner, Mulumbu (Morrison 78′), Thomas, Long (Tchoyi 20′), Odemwingie. Unused Subs: Fulop, Dawson, Gera, Cox, Shorey.

Not the scoreline we hoped for, but certainly one we feared. Not a great deal to discuss really, we were soundly beaten by a side who are clearly superior in every single position. We’ve now lost our unbeaten status. Not unexpectedly.

Mario Balotelli opened the scoring by leaping on the opportunity to pull a bicycle kick out of his toolbox, scoring from six yards. That was the only goal of the first half, but although we had created the same number of chances by the break, City’s 68% possession told the real story of the first 45 minutes.

Adam Johnson made it 2-0 just two minutes into the second period, latching onto the ball after Stephen Warnock missed his attempted clearance and slotted calmly past Shay Given. Vincent Kompany made it 3-0 just five minutes later, taking advantage of slack marking at a corner to head in powerfully.

Stephen Warnock atoned for his earlier error by blasting in a loose ball off the underside of the cross bar to make it 3-1, but James Milner reminded us all what we’re missing – as if we needed it – by hitting a quite sublime, curling effort into the top corner from around 20 yards. He didn’t celebrate.

And that’s about it. There is much to discuss about the tactics of team selection. It might be a little odd opting to play Emile Heskey on the right of a defensive 4-5-1 shape, but that wasn’t the difference between getting something from this game or not.

No one was particularly poor, not really, they’re just better than us. Ciaran Clark did very well, he deserves a mention, but that’s about it.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Dunne, Clark, Warnock, Delph (Albrighton 77′), Petrov, Ireland (N’Zogbia 55′), Heskey (Bannan 64′), Agbonlahor, Bent. Unused subs: Guzan, Cuellar, Herd, Weimann.

Man City: Hart, Richards (Kolo 66′), Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, De Jong, Barry, Johnson (Hargreaves 77′), Yaya (Silva 65′), Milner, Balotelli. Unused subs: Pantilimon, Kolarov, Nasri, Dzeko.

Wigan Athletic were finally beaten in the league at Villa Park in a comfortable win for the home side thanks to a goal in either half. The first, a brilliant effort from Gabby Agbonlahor, who then turned provider for the second; setting up an unmissable effort for Darren Bent in front of the Holte End.

If you were to glance at the statistics, you’d be forgiven for assuming that Roberto Martinez might be leaving Birmingham thinking that his side deserved something from this game. The 39/61 possession figure is particularly misleading, Shay Given really had little to be concerned about.

The same can’t be said of Ali Al Habsi at the other end who made a number of impressive saves to restrict his trips to the back of the net to just the two. In truth, a three or four goal margin might have flattered us, but this could easily have finished that way.

Alex McLeish showed willingness to make the tough decisions when he elected to drop Charles N’Zogbia to include the fit again Bent, and it was definitely the right decision. He also switched the system to something of a 4-1-3-2, or perhaps a narrow midfield diamond, with Stiliyan Petrov sitting deep and Stephen Ireland encouraged to get forward.

Gabby’s performance, including the goal and assist, rightly earned the Man of the Match award, but he actually didn’t start too well. At one point during the opening 20 minutes or so, his pass completion fell below 50% as a number of passes went frustratingly wayward.

But he fought back well and showed his rediscovered confidence after latching onto Barry Bannan’s superb long ball into the left channel before cutting inside to unleash into the roof of the net from around 12 yards with his favoured right foot.

It was perhaps a little worrying that McLeish opted to see out the ten minutes that remained in the half in a more defensive 4-5-1 shape with Gabby occupying the left flank. That could have backfired, but fortunately it didn’t today.

Stephen Ireland, who gave one of his better performances in a claret and blue shirt, picked up a knock right before the break and it wouldn’t have been surprising not to see him again for the second half. He did come out, although you’d be forgiven for missing him.

Emile Heskey came on to replace Ireland just before the hour mark, forcing another shift in formation, this time to the more familiar 4-2-3-1 with Heskey dropping in behind Bent.

The important second goal came four minutes later and it was all Gabby’s work.

After initially showing a poor touch in trying to play a lay off in our own half, and losing possession, he dove in to win the ball back before scurrying off up the left flank.

His pace and determination got him into the box, his left foot stood the ball up for Darren Bent, gratefully waiting to tap into an unguarded net from six yards.

It was Bent’s first goal in front of the Holte End, but the home crowd knew that Gabby did the bulk of the work.

Bent made way for Charles N’Zogbia with 16 minutes left, the striker making time to give Gabby a quick hug before he left the pitch. Gabby himself was given the opportunity to get a well earned standing ovation with five minutes left, Andreas Weimann his replacement.

Overall, a much needed win after a string of below par performances. It may not be anything to get carried away with, but Wigan have been stubborn opponents over the years and there’s much to be encouraged about from today.

There’s still more to come too. Delph was brilliant at times, dangerously casual and frustratingly wasteful at others. Ireland was good for much of the first half, but not outstanding, he can definitely do better. Hutton is looking fitter, but again a little fortunate not to give away a penalty today.

Final word goes to Barry Bannan, who gave Gabby a run for his money for the MotM award, and the three more regular members of the backline; Collins, Dunne and Warnock, who were all rock solid, particularly Richard Dunne who had a good battle with Franco Di Santo for the whole game.

Annoyingly, we now have another two week international break before we travel to Eastlands. I wouldn’t be surprised if a certain Mr Agbonlahor gets a call up though, he certainly deserves it this season so far. EDIT: Apparently, Gabby is going to see a specialist about a back problem and won’t be available for England. It’s also emerged that Jermaine Jenas is suffering from an Achilles problem and will be out for another month.

For now though, we’re still unbeaten, but now up to 6th place. We’re also showing some signs of cohesion and glimpses of the quality we undoubtedly do have. Hopefully that continues when the league reconvenes.

Aston Villa: Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Bannan, Petrov, Delph, Ireland (Heskey 58′), Agbonlahor (Weimann 86′), Bent (N’Zogbia 74′). Unused subs: Guzan, Clark, Herd, Albrighton.