It might not have quite been the Thrilla at the Villa I expected during the opening 45 minutes, but it sparked into life during a great 2nd half with no shortage of drama,  James Collins heading in a last minute, emphatic winner when it looked like three points had once again been thrown away with minutes to go against a Blackpool that featured 10 changes.

In truth, there could have been considerably more goals if Marlon Harewood had finished several 1st half chances and referee Anthony Taylor hadn’t inexplicably ruled out a goal by Nathan Delfouneso and awarded what looked a pretty sure penalty for Marc Albrighton after the break.

Gérard Houllier should have been concerned about the early warning signs as Marlon Harewood exploited huge holes at the back, getting between Collins and Dunne on several occasions. Fortunately those opportunities were spurned and Villa took the lead in the 28th minute when Stewart Downing was fed by Ash on the right and shaped to shoot with his left foot before cutting back and connecting sweetly with his right, the ball taking a fortunate deflection to beat Kingson.

In what is becoming a worrying pattern, Villa switched off right before the whistle and Marlon Harewood finally slotted away a chance when sent clean through with only Brad Friedel to beat.

The start to the 2nd period was extremely positive, Ash in particular looking hungry to put Blackpool to the sword. It looked like a period of pressure paid dividends when Ash chased down a long ball sent through by James Collins and cut the ball back to sit up nicely for Delfouneso to head in with some power only for Taylor to chalk it off for what he presumably saw as climbing on the Blackpool defender.

He refused to make up for that poor call minutes later when Marc Albrighton appeared to be taken out on the right corner of the box. The home crowd roared into life to pass on their considered appraisal of his performance. It was beginning to look like things really weren’t going to go our way and Gabby began preparing to come on, Houllier surprisingly looking to give him a whole half hour run out.

Nathan Delfouneso forced Houllier to hold off on the change by picking up Ash’s brilliant pass in space and using his first touch to create a superb one-on-one situation with the advancing Kingson which he slotted into the bottom corner perfectly.

Houllier made the change anyway four minutes later, Gabby receiving a huge roar from the home crowd and Delfouneso looking like a little of the pressure had been released with the goal.

Ian Holloway attempted to respond in typically unconventional style by making a triple substitution only for the whole process to turn into a farce by Dekel Keinan picking up an injury right in the middle, but unsure whether he’d be staying or going.

In the end, over five minutes, Hollloway was able to get Charlie Adam on for Jason Euell, Ian Evatt on for Keinan and DJ Campbell replaced Marlon Harewood who received a warm send off from the Villa Park crowd.

Stephen Ireland came on for Marc Albrighton for the final nine minutes and once again seemed to struggle to get on the same wavelength as the rest of the team.

The changes worked for Blackpool and they began pushing back during the closing 10 minutes and no one would really have been surprised when DJ Campbell’s effort from outside the box, with no less than James Collins, Ciaran Clark and Richard Dunne desperately trying to block his shot, took a deflection sending the ball looping over the top of the helpless Brad Friedel.

It may or may not be worth noting that the opportunity came after Stephen Ireland put in the effort to chase back, but is sliding tackle failed to dispossess Blackpool of the ball.

Same old, same old.

Well, not quite. Finally some sign of character from this team.  James Collins the hero after a strong run to meet a corner, heading it perfectly, leaving Kingson absolutely no chance and Villa three vital points.  The first league win since Wolves at the end of September and we’re back into the top half of the table.

Aside from a shocking performance from the back four at times during the 1st half, it was another game that provided a lot of positive signs, particularly from the youngsters.  Ashley Young came to life after the break and was the catalyst for most of the positivity going forward, it was also extremely encouraging to see Gabby back and Eric Lichaj was given his Premier League debut in injury time, replacing Barry Bannan.

Alarmingly though, Carlos Cuellar was missing from the match squad, I don’t know why at this stage, and Habib Beye was replaced on the bench by Shane Lowry after pulling up in the warm up.

Teamsheets here, Statshack later here.  For now, time to get heart rate back to rest and take in those sweet, sweet points before turning thoughts to the visit of Man Utd at the weekend.

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