Game #3464
Wednesday, 23 November 1977
Attendance: 32,973
Won
UEFA Cup 3rd Round
3rd Round
Athletic Bilbao
DWLDW
Villa Park
Villa secure a strong 2-0 home win over Bilbao but it could have been more as ‘keeper Iríbar proved fallible throughout and once again the officials rule out a Villa strike in curious circumstances as Brian Little riffled a tremendous right foot shot into the net after 32 minutes from a corner by Cropley. But Dutch referee Johan Beck disallowed the "goal" ruling that Deehan had run offside.
Aston Villa
2-0
Athletic Bilbao
Assist(s) | John Gidman | 78' |
KEY MAN
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
33’ Goal, 1-0, Own Goal (Iríbar)
HT Aston Villa 1-0 Athletic Bilbao
78’ Goal, 2-0, John Deehan, Assist by John Gidman
FT Aston Villa 2-0 Athletic Bilbao
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa put themselves in a strong position in the UEFA Cup third round as they open up a two goal lead over Bilbao ahead of the second leg.
Aston Villa
Athletic Bilbao
FIXTURE HISTORY
Athletic Bilbao
Previous 5 vs. Bilbao: | - | - | - | - | - |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1977-78 |
Matchday | #23 |
Manager Game | #182 |
Wednesday, 23 November 1977
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders |
Referee | Jan Beck, Netherlands |
FT Result | Won |
FT Score | 2-0 |
Last 5 Games | DWLDW |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Jan Beck | 🇩🇪 |
Previous 5:
Last Match:
Cards:
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Ron Saunders names an unchanged line up.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.05 |
Oldest Player |
GK Jimmy Rimmer | 29.81 |
Youngest Player |
F John Deehan | 20.31 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
Aston Villa
GK Jimmy Rimmer |
CB Ken McNaught |
FB Gordon Smith |
RB John Gidman |
M Leighton Phillips |
M Alex Cropley |
M Dennis Mortimer |
W Frank Carrodus |
F Brian Little |
F John Deehan |
CF Andy Gray |
Athletic Bilbao
Iríbar, Alexanko, Goikoetxea, Astrain, Villar, Tirapu, Guisasola, Irueta, Dani, Churruca, Ruiz. Manager: Koldo Aguirre.
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK John Burridge |
M John Gregory |
CB Allan Evans |
M Gordon Cowans |
FB Mick Buttress |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 1 |
John Robson |
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME
MATCHDAY QUOTES
"They [Atletico Bilbao] are an impressive and skilful side.
“Carlos leapt high to open the scoring against Hercules and he is the sort of player who can cause problems.
“They are more skilful than our last UEFA opponents, Gornik, but they are not as well organised. And, as you would expect with a Spanish side, they are not a physical."
Tony Barton
"Any side reaching the last 16 of the competition must be a top outfit. We know Bilbao are no mugs."
Ron Saunders. Pre Match.
---
“Deehan was in the net at the time and was not interfering with play [when the referee ruled him offside for Brian Little’s ‘goal’].
“I think we fully deserved our two goal lead.
“The whole side played well and it will be very interesting over there.
“But I am confident that we can go through to the last eight of the competition."
Ron Saunders.
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Thursday, 24 November 1977