Aston Villa 1 - West Bromwich Albion 1

Date:	Sunday 30th September 2012
Competition:	Barclays Premier League
Villa: 6.5	(4-2-3-1) Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Bennett, El Ahmadi, Delph (Bannan, 71), Albrighton (N'Zogbia, 66), Holman, Agbonlahor, Benteke (Bent, 68) Unused subs: Given, Westwood, Weimann, Lichaj
WBA: 7.3	(4-2-3-1) Foster 7.8, Jones 5.8 (Tamas, 45 7.5), McAuley 7.4, Olsson 8.2, Popov 7.2, Yacob 7.5, Mulumbu 7.0, Gera 6.1, Morrison 7.6, Brunt 6.0 (Dorrans, 40 7.3), Long 8.0 (Lukaku, 72 6.8) Unused subs: Daniels, Rosenberg, El Ghanassy, Fortun Manager: Steve Clarke 7.5
Scorers:	Bent (80); Long (51)
Referee:	Anthony Taylor (Cheshire) 7.2
Attendance:	34,489   Home Fans 5.4   Away Fans 8.3

Summary:

Villa were left still searching for their second win of the season as Albion secured a draw at Villa Park, but both sides could count themselves unlucky not to have secured all three points.

After a bright start, Albion were pegged back by Villa and were struck twice by injury problems before the half-time whistle. Liam Ridgewell had already missed out through injury sustained in last week's win over Reading to be replaced by debutant Goran Popov, and both Chris Brunt and Billy Jones had to be substituted by Graham Dorrans and Gabriel Tamas respectively.

But shortly after having one goal ruled out for offside, Shane Long raced onto a pass from James Morrison and got a bit of luck when defender Ron Vlaar could only help it into his path for a straightforward finish.

Sadly, Albion couldn't hang onto the lead and after several attempts to clear the ball from a Villa corner it dropped to substitute Darren Bent to level the scores with a well placed volley.

The point leaves Albion in sixth place, behind Spurs on goals scored.

oshawabaggie:

It turned out to be the dour struggle I suspect most fans would have expected. We seemed tentative in the first half, just happy not to make any defensive mistakes, but picked up the pace at the start of the second. The TV guys (predictably) seemed to think Villa had more of the game, but I felt we had the better chances, especially Lukaku who grazed the post and then missed an opening when he tried to drag the ball back to his left foot instead of hitting it with his right. We played some crisp football at times without ever looking like we could sustain it for long, but bearing in mind Villa beat Man City in the week, I suppose an away draw was not a horrible result.

New boy Popov did OK for me. He misplayed a couple of passes, but didn't look out of place. The other pleasing thing was that the two subs (Dorrans and Tamas) didn't negatively impact the team. In fact I thought they looked better than the guys they replaced. Nevertheless, having to bring on the subs so early tied SC's hands later on. Lukaku could do with more ball control and a right foot, but he still causes trouble with his size and speed. Long did better in the second half and was in the right spot for Morrison's pinpoint cross - shades of his goal against Everton. I thought Olsson and Foster were key again and the rest of the team did OK. No lack of effort from anyone.

The injuries are starting to mount up. Brunt (hamstring) will be out for a while. Not sure about Billy Jones(knee) and McAuley (?). It's good we've got points in the bag early in the season in case we hit a wall in a couple of months.

Overall, three wins, two away draws and an away loss - resulting in sixth place, exceeds my expectations so far.

Boing Boing

Bobby Hope:

Well what fantastic support from the Albion faithful - it's a long time since I've heard Chim-Chimminy!

On to the game. Never going to be a classic and our injuries towards the end of the first half didn't help but, like Oshawa, I thought the subs were better than the boys they replaced. There was lots of hustle and bustle, as you would expect, but at times our passing was very good - crisp and accurate one and two touch stuff.

Long causes problems and works his socks off - a very genuine player that never drops his head (even after missing that early nod at the far post). For me Yacob was man of the match with Olsson, Morrison and Foster all deserving 'commendations'. It is very clear to me that we have a good team spirit and some strength in depth. SC is growing on me with every game. Onwards and Upwards. COYB!