Dave Woodhall sees Villa beat Everton and wave goodbye to Goodison Park.
Apart from the ‘most played fixture’ line that gets wheeled out every time Villa play Everton, there’s something about this one that appeals to the traditionalist. Both clubs have been there from the start and for the past hundred-odd years neither have really punched their weight. Both have had their highs and lows; Everton have arguably had more highs but Villa have gone higher, and also much lower. There’s no doubt that Goodison is unsuitable for modern football and in many ways that’s the fault of modern football, not Everton. The view might be poor and the facilities worse, but this fixture will never be the same again.
The Villa team showed the expected return of a few players after last week’s FA Cup interruption, with Ollie Watkins keeping his place ahead of the unsuspended Jhon Duran and Jacob Ramsey making a welcome appearance. Lining up against Villa was Ashley Young, who seems to have been playing for almost as long as we’ve been travelling to Goodison, and his presence showed the lack of quality in an Everton side engaged in what seems their annual battle against relegation.
Villa’s superior quality soon showed and Morgan Rogers was unlucky not to score in the first five mnutes, his shot from the edge of the area being well saved. Ollie Watkins should have done better after picking up a loose ball and hitting wide while at the other end Boubacar Kamara cleared off the line, although much of the hard work had been done by Emiliano Martinez in preventing a clear run on goal. Ramsey should then have done better, snatching at his shot with the goal wide open.
Nil-nil at half-time and there’s always the nagging doubt at this point. Not for long, though, because six minutes after the restart Rogers picked up another poor Everton pass and slid the ball through with his usual precision for Watkins to run onto, this time making no mistake.
Villa might have thought that was the points won and they allowed the home side back into the game, with too much scrappy play and a lack of focus that almost cost the win. Everton’s best chance came in stoppage time, when with their player unmarked inside the penalty area the ball was lifted way over the crossbar. That’s what happens when you’re at the bottom.
And so Villa ended a nasty run of five straight away defeats, with a clean sheet into the bargain. The other results this week largely went our way to leave us seventh in the table, which isn’t something to particularly shout about, and which is more frustrating than anything else, given the number of points we’ve thrown away this season. But we’ve put the bad run behind us and we’re starting to get into form, even if the performances don’t yet match the results.
With one player already signed, another new arrival watching and one or two more seemingly on the way, the future looks bright. Which is more than you can say for Goodison.
