Game #3563
Saturday, 24 November 1979
Attendance: 29,736
Drew
Division One
8th (+1)
Leeds United
DWDWD
Villa Park
Villa record their sixth goalless draw of the season to climb to 8th in the table after ten unbeaten first division games.
Aston Villa
0-0
Leeds United
Assist(s) | None |
KEY MAN
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
38’ Missed Penalty, Allan Evans
HT Aston Villa 0-0 Leeds United
FT Aston Villa 0-0 Leeds United
ON THIS DAY
Ron Saunders' Villa make it ten games unbeaten in Division One to record five wins, eight draws and three defeats in sixteen League matches this season. As a result Villa climb to eighth in the table - their highest position of the season to date. Meanwhile, full back Eamonn Deacy made his first appearance in the Villa squad aged 21 after his move from Galway Rovers in February 1979.
Aston Villa
Leeds United
League Champions: 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1973–74
FIXTURE HISTORY
Leeds United
Previous 5 vs. Leeds: | 🟩 | 🟨 | 🟩 | 🟨 | 🟥 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1979-80 |
Matchday | #20 |
League Match | #16 |
Manager Game | #281 |
Saturday, 24 November 1979
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Ron Saunders |
Referee | Ray Toseland, Market Harborough |
FT Result | Drew |
FT Score | 0-0 |
Last 5 Games | DWDWD |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Ray Toseland | 🏴 | Kettering, 1971-1981
Previous 5:
Last Match:
Cards: None
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Ron Saunders names an unchanged line up.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.39 |
Oldest Player |
GK Jimmy Rimmer | 31.81 |
Youngest Player |
F Gary Shaw | 18.02 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Ron Saunders
Aston Villa
GK Jimmy Rimmer |
RB Kenny Swain |
FB Mike Pejic |
CB Ken McNaught |
CB Allan Evans |
M Des Bremner |
M Gordon Cowans |
M Dennis Mortimer |
F Brian Little |
F David Geddis |
F Gary Shaw |
Leeds United
Lukic, Cherry, Hart, Stevenson, Greenhoff, Hamson, Hird, Connor, Graham, Curtis, Gray E. Manager: Jimmy Adamson.
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
FB Eamonn Deacy |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 3 |
Alex Cropley |
Tony Morley |
Frank Carrodus |
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
“The difference was that this was the kind of game we would probably have lost last season."
Ron Saunders.
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Monday, 26 November 1979
Aston Villa stretched their unbeaten run into double figures against Leeds at Villa Park on Saturday but it was a touch and go operation.
In the match which often suggested that the teams could have gone on slogging away at each other until Christmas without scoring, Villa lasted slightly the better to hang on to a goalless draw.
It was their sixth game of the season which has not produced a goal, and it must be said that watching this young, keen side trying so hard to establish themselves in the First Division, can be hard work.
In the end, honour was probably satisfied on both sides, but Villa were left with a painful reminder that in the 38th minute they had squandered a penalty award which should have pointed the way to victory over opponents who are going through a shaky patch.
When Swain was pulled down in the corner of the Leeds box by Stevenson, Evans's shot from the spot was not well aimed and Lukic was able to divert it over the crossbar.
Lukic, who is only 18 and getting his chance because of an injury to Harvey, was indeed a key figure in earning his side their valuable point.
His manager Jimmy Adamson admitted: "He kept us alive in the first halt and we looked more compact in midfield after that. He is playing even better now than he did in our youth team."
Ron Saunders, Villa's manager, threw in a tribute to Lukic's performance, but pointed out : "We had three or four good chances but didn't put them in."
Frustration
"When we missed the penalty I got the feeling that it was going to be one of those days because Leeds were competing well and we were too often standing off and letting them play.
"But, in the end, despite all the frustration, we were good value for a point. The difference was that this was the kind of game we would probably have lost last season."
There were good saves by Villa's Rimmer, too, particularly in the second half as Leeds, scenting the chance of a rare away win, pounced on some wayward Villa passing.
But with only 20 seconds left on referee Toseland's watch, Villa should have sneaked both the points when Shaw foraged well down the left wing and tipped over a short, high ball.
Geddis, still looking for his first goal for the club in his 12th appearance, Was unmarked but headed wide.