Reserverna vann
Vann enkelt mot serieledarna Reading på Villa Park.
3-0 vann Aston Villa med. Taylor i mål och en fyrbackslinje med Lund, Laursen, O’Halloran och Samuel. Mittfältet bestod av Herd, Hogg, Gardner och Stieber. På topp Angel och Moore. Det var tänkt att Ridgewell skulle spela, men han kom inte till start på grund av någon skada.
Reading ställde också upp med ett relativt namnkunnigt lag. Bland annat den gamle Villaspelaren De la Cruz. Hela laget:
Reading: Andersen, Spence, De la Cruz, Bikey, Bennett, Karacan, Seol, Oster (Hateley 76min), Bozanic (Robson-Kanu 61min), Long Doyle (Church 61).
Villas mål gjordes av Gardner, Herd och Stephen O’Halloran.
Betyg från Villatalk:
Taylor: (7) Some good stops and commanded his area well. We’re lucky to have a number two with his ability and authority.
Lund: (7) A capable performance from Eric. He looks comfortable at this level and dealt well with everything that was thrown at him.
O’Halloran: (7) defended well and played one or two decent long balls forward. Didn’t manage to get forward as much as he has in other games, but did very well against a dangerous Reading attack.
Laursen: (9) Came striding forward to win balls or carry the fight to Reading on countless occasions. When the pressure was on in the second half, every Reading attack seemed to wither on Laursen. He’s got this coming back from injury thing down to a tee.
Samuel: (5) Struggled with Seol all night. His booking was just silly and he didn’t make enough impact going forwards, often working his way into decent positions before failing to get a ball in. The watching scouts won’t be reaching for their clubs chequebooks tonight.
Hogg: (8) A performance packed full of industry, energy and endeavour. He simply outworked the Reading midfield. It’s the best game I’ve seen him have, and if he can add a bit of quality on the ball then he’s one for next season.
Herd: (7) Like Hogg, this might be the best game I’ve seen him have for the reserves. He tired toward the end but battled well down the right hand side, provided a few decent crosses and took his goal very well.
Gardner: (9) Dominated the middle of the park, tackled hard as ever and really impressed with the runs he made from midfield. Had a number of efforts from distance and got into the box well. He might consider himself unlucky to only have scored one. With Gavin McCann suspended, I think Craig Gardner should find himself in the sixteen against Blackburn.
Angel: (7) Some nice touches, and added a bit of guile to our attacks, headed against a post whilst offside and had two or three shots, but never really looked like he was going to score.
Moore: (7) Ran hard, and badgered the Reading defence from start to finish. Had a couple of half chances, but occasionally dwelt too long on the ball in front of goal. A strange performance from Luke, “worked hard but no goals” isn’t a line that seasoned reserves watchers are familiar with.
Stieber: (8) A hat-trick of assists and superb delivery from set pieces all night. It was a shame that he couldn’t add much from open play where he was too often knocked off the ball. Needs a bit more time in the gym so that his physique can support his talent.
