Aston Villa lost their first home game of the season as they were defeated 2-1 by Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon.
The game got off to the worst possible start for Villa as they found themselves behind with just eighteen seconds on the clock thanks to a fantastic strike from Adam Reach. The ball fell to the winger 25 yards from goal and he thumped a thunderous effort into the top corner.
Villa couldn’t get a foothold in the match, and things got even worse for the home side when Terry was forced off injured in just the 21st minute. Two minutes later, the away side doubled their lead when Jordan Rhodes finished off a neat move.
Villa tried to get back into the game, but failed to trouble Keiran Westwood in Wednesday’s goal, and they left the field at half-time to a cacophony of boos.
The home side started the second-half on the front foot, but The Owls withstood everything that Villa threw at them, right up until Samba pulled back a consolation goal with virtually the last kick of the match. James Chester also had the chance to pull back a goal late on, but he headed over from 10 yards out.
Here are our Villa player ratings for today’s match:
GK: Sam Johnstone - 6
Let in two goals, but he could nothing to prevent either of them. Did everything that was expected of him for the rest of the match.
RB: Ahmed Elmohamady - 6
Another pretty solid defensive display, but we think he could do more going forward.
CB: James Chester - 6.5
Solid once again, and could do nothing to prevent the two goals from going in.
CB: John Terry - N/A
Didn’t have enough time to get into the match before having to go off injured.
LB: Alan Hutton - 7
One of Villa’s best players today. Was solid in defence and we lost count of how many times he made forward runs to try and start an attack.
RM: Robert Snodgrass - 4
When you’re uninjured and being taken off with just 40 minutes on the clock, you know that you’ve had a pretty poor game.
CM: Glenn Whelan - 5
Looked lethargic throughout and was sloppy on the ball on too many occasions.
CM: Conor Hourihane - 6
Did his defensive duties pretty well, but far too many of his crosses were overhit.
LM :Albert Adomah - 6.5
Was always wanting the ball and tried to create an attack whenever he received it. However, there was not much movement for him today.
ST: Scott Hogan - 4.5
Was given the opportunity he’s been waiting for, but, if we’re being honest, he failed to take it. Was anonymous for a large portion of the game.
ST: Keinan Davis - 5
Had a frustrating day today and couldn’t make his mark against a stoic defence. Held the ball up nicely at times.
SUB: Christopher Samba - 5
Came on for Terry in the 21st minute, and within minutes he was at fault for Wednesday’s second goal. Scored in the last minute of the game, but that doesn’t make up for his poor defensive display.
SUB: Callum O'Hare - 6
Came on for Snodgrass in the 40th minute and put himself about the park. Made the assist for Villa’s consolation goal.