Aston Villa defeated Wigan 2-0 on Saturday afternoon to make it an impressive 5 wins from their last 6 games.
If we’re being perfectly honest, Wigan were the better side for a large proportion of the match and they could have been a goal or two ahead before Villa took the lead courtesy of a bullet header from inspirational captain James Chester in the 73rd minute. Early on in the match Omar Bogle somehow contrived to fire wide after having rounded Sam Johnstone, and not long after Gabriel Obertan fired wide when in a promising position.
After conceding, Wigan had a great chance to equalize, but Bogle was denied by a fine fingertip save from Johnstone. Just minutes later, the game was put to bed when Scott Hogan, who has just returned from injury, scored his first goal for his new club when he headed in Albert Adomah’s cross.
Villa’s form has dramatically improved in recent weeks and, as a result, they have reduced the gap on sixth-placed Sheffield Wednesday from 17 to 11. However, with just eight games to go, a play-off spot for Steve Bruce’s 12th-placed side remains unlikely.
Here are our player ratings for today’s game:
GK: Sam Johnstone - 8
Kept Wigan out with save after save. Possible his best performance in a Villa shirt. He now has 5 clean sheets in the last 6 games.
RB: James Bree - 6
Defended reasonably well for the 60 minutes that he was on the field.
CB: James Chester - 7.5
Leads by example in every game that he plays in. Topped off another good defensive performance will a well-taken header.
CB: Mile Jedinak - 7
Should have been punished by Bogle after a poor back pass early on. However, he recovered from that very well and was pivotal in helping Villa keep their fifth clean sheet in their last 6 games.
LB: Neil Taylor - 6
Made a few defensive errors throughout, but was lucky that they were not punished. Will have better days in a Villa shirt.
RM: Alan Hutton - 6
As usual, he gave his all, but, if we’re being honest, he didn’t have much joy on the wing as he did last week.
CM: Gary Gardner - 4.5
Had a pretty poor game today and gave the ball away far too often. Was taken off with 30 minutes left.
CM: Conor Hourihane - 7
Put in a very solid performance and played an important part in the opening goal. He is quickly becoming a fan favourite.
LM: Jordan Amavi - 5.5
Didn’t have the best of first halves, but he got more involved in the game in the second half and offered a decent outlet.
ST: Albert Adomah - 5.5
Struggled at times, but improved when he was moved out wide. Provided the assist for Hogan’s first goal for the club.
ST: Jonathan Kodjia - 6
Was clearly frustrated in the first 60 minutes when he had Adomah for company up front. However, when Hogan entered the fray, he got much more involved in proceedings.
SUB: Scott Hogan - 7.5
Worked hard up front for the 30 minutes that he was on the field. Played a role in Villa’s opening goal before notching his first goal for the club.
SUB: Henri Lansbury - 7
Added some much-needed composure to a midfield that were consistently giving the ball away.