Roberto Di Matteo admitted he was proud of the effort of his players, but nevertheless was disappointed after Villa’s loss to Sheffield Wednesday, after a late error from Pierluigi Gollini gave the home side victory.
Villa started off slowly at Hillsborough, but grew into the game as half-time approached. Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede both had opportunities to put Villa ahead as Villa looked to take the lead at Hillsborough.
The second-half saw Villa continue to waste good opportunities to put themselves ahead, with Ross McCormack wasting Villa’s best chance of the game during the second-half.
Di Matteo’s side would come to regret missing those vital opportunities, when in the 86th minute, an error from Gollini allowed Forestieri to run through on goal and secure an opening day with for the hosts.
Speaking to Villa’s website after the game, Di Matteo said:
It’s disappointing, the way we conceded so late.
We defended well as a team, all in all, in the second half we played well as a team and created some very good opportunities.
He also spoke about the positive signs from Villa’s performance in Sheffield.
It is going to take time to work with this team but the second half was very good.
It is just small details that make the difference. We knew that.
The players gave everything today. They ran, fought and we all wanted to get a result.
It is just a shame we gave it away rather than them earning it.
Villa’s next game is against Luton on Wednesday, in the first round of the EFL Cup.
