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Follow us on Twitter @claretandview // Words by Jake Evans (@jakeevans_11)
World Cup Winner Impresses on His Full Debut
New Villa loanee Josh Onomah signed from Tottenham last week after winning the U20 World Cup with the England squad in the summer. Onomah impressed tonight; his strength in the midfield was unparalleled, and his driving moves forward were reminiscent of a trademark Adama Traore run (e. not that we saw many of them) – only this time there was a better end product. No goals for the young lad, but certainly a solid debut on which he can build.
Jed Steer… or Gigi Buffon?
Maybe comparing the former Norwich goalkeeper to the best ‘keeper of all time is a little excessive, but there is no denying that Steer was fantastic tonight. My Man of the Match; Steer produced a brilliant penalty save as well as showcasing some fantastic reflexes to keep Villa ahead. Sam Johnstone might just be looking over his shoulder with performances like that in Jed’s locker.
Villa fans love Callum O’Hare
Nobody saw this coming. In fact, the young player himself liked a tweet of mine in which I expressed regret that he wouldn’t be playing against Watford – having played in the U23 fixture the night before. However, O’Hare’s fantastic performances in preseason have clearly paid dividends because Steve Bruce put him straight into the team today, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. With fantastic passing, dribbling and work ethic, many Villa fans watching live at the ground or on SkySports felt certain that they were witnessing the birth of their teams latest young star. An attack of Andre Green, Cal O’Hare, Jack Grealish, Keinan Davis and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy sounds formidable… and to think that it was all produced for free in Bodymoor Heath. Someone needs to take Sean Kimberley for a beer.
The Return of De Laet
James Bree had a great game at Right Back, but seeing as Jordan Amavi appears to be departing Villa Park, a vacant position as Taylor’s second fiddle seems to have opened up. Premier League Champion Ritchie De Laet got a warm round of applause as he made his way back onto the pitch tonight after 11 months out injured, and fans and coaching team alike will be hoping for a solid season from the former Manchester United man.
The SkySports curse is broken!
After throwing away games left, right and centre last season while live on SkySports – Sheffield Wednesday, Brighton, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Birmingham and Barnsley to name a few – the trend seemed to be continuing as we failed to pick up a deserved 3 points against Hull on Saturday. Tonight, however, we broke the curse… and last time we did that, we went on a massive winning streak… could a repeat be on the cards?
