Aston Villa Reserves v Forest Post-Match Thread

[Clampy]

Not every win is going to be a 3-0. Some are going to be tough and hard work and today was. There's nothing wrong with that at all, they're 3rd for a reason. If anything, this kind of win should be as satisfying as a 3-0 win would be.

[RamboandBruno]

It was a really good game between two very good sides. We out played them the first 30 or so, they came back into it before half time and then dominated the first say 20 mins of the second half. Im not really sure why we wouldn’t expect a team comfortably in third place for most of the season, not to have some periods of control in the game?

There was no luck about our win though. They created some openings, and so did we, probably more clear cut ones. I thought as lovely a player as Asensio is, McGinn wrestled back some control for us and Ramsey made a real difference as well. Rashford also posed a bigger threat than Ollie.

Really important win.

[Percy McCarthy]

Not every win is going to be a 3-0. Some are going to be tough and hard work and today was. There's nothing wrong with that at all, they're 3rd for a reason. If anything, this kind of win should be as satisfying as a 3-0 win would be.

Absolutely. We’ve had a few comfortable wins, doesn’t hurt to grind one out and have a little bit of luck now and again.

And Rambo’s right, SJM and JJ did really well and turned the tide.

[VillaTim]

This is beautiful payback for the undeserved loss at their place . Karma .

[rougegorge]

I don't think the win was especially fortuitous or undeserved. We were much better than them for much of the first half. Also we still had some great chances in the second half.

They improved a lot in the 2nd half and they do have some good players. We let their wide players have too much influence and should have been better at cutting out the diagonals to them. Nevertheless it was a good win

[PaulWinch again]

I agree with Eamonn. If I were a Forest fan, I'd be aggrieved at losing that game.

But they had fewer chances, fewer shots and fewer goals than us?

We were a bit of a mess for about 25 minutes, but they're good and have a style that wins them lots of matches. There was always going to be tricky parts.

Is exactly how I’d see it. I can’t see how they should feel aggrieved. They did well for a phase of the game but we did plenty as well.

[Percy McCarthy]

I don't think the win was especially fortuitous or undeserved. We were much better than them for much of the first half. Also we still had some great chances in the second half.

They improved a lot in the 2nd half and they do have some good players. We let their wide players have too much influence and should have been better at cutting out the diagonals to them. Nevertheless it was a good win

We’ve been choosing to be narrow centrally and leaving space out wide lately. It’s partly responsible for our improved defence and results.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's better to win ugly than lose pretty.

Regardless of whether you think we deserved to win or not, I don't see the point in trying to find negatives when we've just won 7 in a row and are now off to Paris for a CL QF.

[Gareth]

Excellent 3 points vs one of the form teams, v good first half, nervy second half.

Happy

Not gonna make any excuses for winning a good game…job done

[VillaTim]

By design I suspect we played very much in eco mode for much of the game hence letting them have the ball . Emery will want everyone as fresh as for Paris .
Effectively after a fast start we won in 2nd gear .

[Dave]

By design I suspect we played very much in eco mode for much of the game hence letting them have the ball . Emery will want everyone as fresh as for Paris .
Effectively after a fast start we won in 2nd gear .

I reckon only Rogers, Martinez and Tielemans are definite starters in Paris though. With Watkins a probable, Asensio and Mings possibles.

Anyone else would be quite surprising, so a lot of the "staying fresh" was happening off-pitch.

[andyh]

First 30 mins were as good as anything we have seen all season. We were brilliant.
Onana, Maatsen, Mings and Garcia were excellent in that period.

Whoever is doing player ratings, if they give Ollie a 4, it will be too much.
He looks absolutely devoid of everything.
His final pass, his final effort, his ability to hold off the defenders and fight to hold the ball, were all lacking today.
I love Ollie, I desperately hope he finds his mojo again.

[not3bad]

When you're playing champions league rivals you'd be naive to expect us to stroll it. It's nice to be able to say champions league rivals though. Even nicer to say we won.

[VillaTim]

By design I suspect we played very much in eco mode for much of the game hence letting them have the ball . Emery will want everyone as fresh as for Paris .
Effectively after a fast start we won in 2nd gear .

I reckon only Rogers, Martinez and Tielemans are definite starters in Paris though. With Watkins a probable, Asensio and Mings possibles.

Anyone else would be quite surprising, so a lot of the "staying fresh" was happening off-pitch.

Yeah possible , hard to read Emery sometimes but I think he wanted some energy conservation across the pack. Probably didn't want to bring Kamara on today but Onana wasn't doing enough .

[joe_c]

Playing a team above us that are bang in form and beating them relatively comfortably despite resting half a dozen players ahead of a European Cup quarter final in midweek is... nice?