Game #3334
Aston Villa
22-8-9, 52 PTS
Saturday, 19 April 1975
Won
2nd (-)
Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩
Division Two
Attendance: 20,762
Blackpool
Bloomfield Road
14-17-10, 45 PTS
Villa record their fifth successive win as they hit their 100th competitive goal of Ron Saunders’ remarkable first season to remain second, seven points off leaders Manchester United who have a single game to play compared to Villa’s three. As a result Villa can be promoted as runners up but are only a single point clear of Sunderland and Norwich who have one and two games left of the season respectively.
Blackpool
0-3
Aston Villa
Assists(s) | Chico Hamilton | 7' | Jim Cumbes | 60' |
KEY MAN
Brian Little, sixth goal in three games as Villa win again in front of a home crowd away, Saturday, 19 April 1975.
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
Saturday, 19 April 1975
⚽ | 7’ Goal, 1-0, Leighton Phillips, Assist by Chico Hamilton
⚽ | 18’ Goal, 2-0, Own Goal, Dave Hatton
🕒 | HT Blackpool 0-2 Aston Villa
⚽ | 60’ Goal, 3-0, Brian Little, Assist by Jim Cumbes
🕒 | FT Blackpool 0-3 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa now have just a single defeat in sixteen League games including five successive wins and ten goals without reply in the last three as they make it twenty two wins, eight draws and nine defeats in Saunders' first thirty nine League games as Villa boss.
Aston Villa
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1974-75
Blackpool
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: 🏆
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: 1952-53
FIXTURE HISTORY
Blackpool
Previous 5 vs. Blackpool: 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟥 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1974-75 |
Matchday | #52 |
League Match | #39 |
Manager Game | #52 |
Saturday, 19 April 1975
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Ron Saunders | 🏴 | Birkenhead, 1974-1982
Referee: Michael Lowe | 🏴 | Sheffield, 1972–1982
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟩 2-0
FT Result: 🟩 Won
FT Score: 🟩 3-0
Last 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩
MANAGERIAL RECORD
Ron Saunders | 🏴 |
GAMES | WINS | DRAWS | LOSSES | POINTS PER GAME
🕒 52 | 🟩 | 30 🟨 | 12 🟥 10 | 1.96
Career Form:
Top 4
Ron Saunders | 🏴 |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Lowe | 🏴 | Sheffield, 1972–1982
Previous 5:
Last Match:
Cards: None
Michael Lowe
CARDS
Villa
None
Blackpool
None
TEAM NEWS
Ron Saunders names an unchanged line up.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 26.13 |
Oldest Player |
LB Charlie Aitken | 🏴 | 32.99 |
Youngest Player |
LB Bobby McDonald | 🏴 | 20.03 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders | 🏴 |
Harry Potts | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Jim Cumbes | 🏴 | 🔥 |
FB John Robson | 🏴 |
CB Chris Nicholl | 🇬🇧 |
CB Ian Ross | 🏴 |
LB Charlie Aitken | 🏴 |
LB Bobby McDonald | 🏴 |
M Leighton Phillips | 🏴 | ⚽ |
M Chico Hamilton | 🏴 | 🔥 |
W Frank Carrodus | 🏴 |
F Keith Leonard | 🏴 |
F Brian Little | 🏴 | ⚽ |
Blackpool
GK John Burridge | 🏴 |
RB John Curtis | 🏴 |
CB Paul Hart | 🏴 |
CB Peter Suddaby | 🏴 |
LB Steve Harrison | 🏴 |
M David Tong | 🏴 |
M Billy Ronson | 🏴 |
M Alan Ainscow | 🏴 |
M John Evanson | 🏴 |
F Bob Hatton | 🏴 | 🔁 |
CF Mickey Walsh | 🇮🇪 |
SUBSTITUTES
No Substitutions Made
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | F Bob Hatton | 🏴 | (F Stuart Parker | 🏴 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
M Frank Pimblett | 🏴 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
None
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 12/12
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 10/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/12
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 3 |
M Pat McMahon | 🏴 | Ankle
F Sammy Morgan | 🇬🇧 | Stomach muscle
W Ray Graydon | 🏴 | Hamstring
UNAVAILABLE
Not Reported
Player Positions:
GK : Goalkeeper
CB, D, B : Centre Back, Defender, Back
FB, LB, RB, WH : Full Back, Left Back, Right Back, Wing Back, Wing Half
M, CH, LH, RH : Midfielder, Centre Half, Left Half, Right Half
W, OL, OR : Winger, Outside Left, Outside Right
F, IF, IL, IR : Forward, Inside Forward, Inside Left, Inside Right, Second Striker, False 9
CF : Centre Forward
Match Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME
MATCHDAY QUOTES
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Monday, 21 April 1975
For a while after the match confusion was in charge.
A rumour that Aston Villa were promoted because Sunderland had lost had spread quickly.
Some of the Villa fans had grouped themselves in front of Bloomfield Road’s dressing room stand and called for Ron Saunders’ who joined them, jubilantly entering into their celebrations.
Sunderland won 3-0 and Villa still need two points to make sure of First Division football next year, although with their goal average, the best in the four Divisions, one would probably do.
I felt particularly sorry for one lad who looked as if he spent every other Saturday afternoon at the Holte End.
He was holding a lump of turf and I did not have the heart to tell him he would have to go gardening again at Hillsborough on Wednesday when Villa meet bottom placed Sheffield Wednesday.
If Villa are beaten in that match - unthinkable in view of Saturday’s performance - their remaining fixtures are demanding.
They meet the two other main promotion candidates, Sunderland at home and Norwich, away. But if they can rely on the same kind of support that they received at Blackpool then their task will be made considerably easier.
Estimates varied but I thought that three quarters of the 20,762 crowd, Blackpool’s second biggest of the season, were Villa supporters.
The atmosphere was like a home match for Villa and the predominant colours were claret and blue.
The team did not let them down either.
I have never seen an away side dominate a game as Villa did on Saturday.
Before the match Blackpool had conceded fewer goals than any other team in the League.
Only 26 to be precise. But Villa spoilt than boast with their 100th competitive goal of Saunders’ remarkable season.
There was a collective and individual confidence in the team that was astonishing considering the fact that Blackpool started the game in sixth place, their promotion effort spent only a week or so ago.
Perhaps the home team were demoralised by playing in front of an away crowd at home, and they were certainly disconcerted by Villa’s commitment and drive.
From the seventh minute, when Villa were put in front by a goal cleverly worked by Chico Hamilton and crisply scored by Leighton Phillips, there never seemed any danger that they would even drop a point.
The only openings created by Blackpool came in the last ten minutes.
These moments of relaxation by Villa’s defence annoyed Saunders, but they were momentary and never threatened Villa’s superiority.
Because, by then Villa were 3-0 ahead, Blackpool having relied on their goalkeeper John Burridge to keep the defeat equal to their heaviest of the season, by Manchester United in October.
Burridge had no chance with the goals and he made three saves which showed why he has kept 21 clean sheets this season although his co-defenders gave no clues as to why this should be.
Villa also went close on three other occasions, which showed why they have scored more League goals than any other team in the First and Second Divisions.
They were helped towards that lofty position by an own goal from Dave Hatton after 18 minutes to make it 2-0 and Brian Little’s goal made sure Villa went one better than Burnley’s 68 goals.
Little’s goal came directly from Jim Cumbes’ huge clearance which bounced 10 yards outside the other penalty area and was missed by Peter Suddaby.
Little hit it home powerfully for his sixth goal in the last three games.
Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. With thanks to Trinity Mirror. Digitised by Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. All rights reserved. Source: British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)