Newcastle 2-0 Aston Villa: Eight Things We Learnt

Gouffran celebrates the opener – mirror.co.uk

A strong second half saw Newcastle take another step to promotion with a 2-0 win over out-of-form Aston Villa – but what have we learnt from the game?

Confidence the key

When most Championship teams lose to Newcastle United, the natural inclination is to consider their resources and quality of player. Comparing their starting eleven with that of Aston Villa however, they contain players with similar price tags and on paper, ability levels. The difference between the two teams on Monday night was therefore confidence. As league leaders, Newcastle naturally had more belief in their forward play during their better spells, whereas when Villa got into the opposing half, they looked burdened by their poor form.

Villa’s battling start

The visitors were at least competitive for the first 40 minutes. Neil Taylor and Jonathan Kodjia combined to keep Matt Ritchie and DeAndre Yedlin quiet while Alan Hutton battled strongly at right-back. However, the Scot’s lack of quality when releasing the ball symbolized the away side’s first half. Aside from a couple of good balls from Conor Hourihane and the lively Jonathan Kodjia’s strike, which forced a hand from Karl Darlow, Villa did not capitalize on their structural prominence with ability on the ball.

Mitrovic made the difference

Dwight Gayle was dominated by James Chester in the first half hour and may have been affected by fitness and personal issues, so Rafa Benitez took him off before the interval. Replacement Aleksandar Mitrovic harried the Villa centre-backs, forcing them and holding midfielder Mile Jedinak further back, which created more space for Toon to construct attacks.

First chance is taken

It seems the first chance Aston Villa concede now results in punishment, a sign of either misfortune or poor defending. The latter did not help them on Monday as the failed to clear for the opener, but some credit must go to Newcastle. Ritchie had endured a difficult first half but his superb 42nd minute cross found Jamaal Lascelles, who nodded across goal and Yoann Gouffran profited from the visiting defensive chaos.

Newcastle dominated after the opener

Villa’s heads dropped after the first goal while Newcastle’s growth in belief was symbolized by Ritchie, who lashed a long-range shot just wide before the break. In the 25 minutes that followed the resumption of play, Newcastle bossed the midfield with Jack Colback picking up second balls and Jonjo Shelvey running the show. The midfielder’s dipping free-kick was well-saved by Sam Johnstone, the one man denying Newcastle a landslide victory.

Lansbury the villain

Johnstone’s efforts were rendered in vain, ironically due to the work of his own player. Henri Lansbury scored a comical own goal by, remarkably, deflecting Lascelle’s faint near-post header into his own net after getting the ball somehow caught between his feet. To make matters more extreme, he had been derided by Newcastle fans for his actions while playing against them for Forest. He was the pantomime Villan in more ways than one – it’s behind you, Henri.

Hogan injury the final blow

Birkir Bjarnason had forced a reflex save from Darlow in the second half at 1-0 and Kodjia got a couple of shots away late on, but this Villa side never looked like staging a comeback. Any hopes ended when they were forced to play the closing stages with 10 men as Scott Hogan, an expensive January acquisition, picked up a potentially season-ending injury.

Different directions

Hogan’s injury compounded another miserable night for the Villans, who need roughly another 10 points from 14 games to ensure their worst period since perhaps the late 60s does not culminate in back-to-back relegations. Newcastle’s stint outside the top flight meanwhile, looks much shorter: they extend their unbeaten run to seven games while regaining their perch at the top of England’s second tier.