Game #5166
Aston Villa
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Drew
15th
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟨
Premier League
Attendance: 32,557
Sunderland
Villa Park
Villa record a sixth goalless game and fifteenth draw under Alex McLeish to make it just seven wins in thirty four Premier League games as Villa sit 15th in the table six points clear of relegation with four to play.
Aston Villa
0-0
Sunderland
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Andreas Weimann runs around a lot as Villa draw for the fifteenth time this season to leave them with just seven wins in thirty four Premier League games under Alex McLeish and relegation still a possibility, Saturday, 21 April 2012.
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
Saturday, 21 April 2012
🔁 | 43’ Sub off, James Collins, Sub on, Alan Hutton
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
🔁 | 48’ Sub off, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Sub on, Emile Heskey
🔁 | 83’ Sub off, Charles N’Zogbia, Sub on, Barry Bannan
🟥 | 90’+2 Sending off, (Sunderland), Craig Gardner
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
ON THIS DAY
Alex McLeish's Villa draw for the fifteenth time in 34 games as Martin O'Neill makes his first appearance at Villa Park since his moonlight flit in August 2010. Villa remain 15th, six points clear of the drop zone.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Sunderland
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: 1972-73
FIXTURE HISTORY
Sunderland
Previous 5 vs. Sunderland: 🟩 🟨 🟥 🟥 🟨
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2011-12 |
Matchday | #38 |
League Game | #34 |
Manager Game | #38 |
Saturday, 21 April 2012
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Alex McLeish | 🏴 | Glasgow, 2011-2012
Referee: Anthony Taylor | 🏴 | Wythenshaw, 2006-
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟥 🟨
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Anthony Taylor | 🏴 | Wythenshaw, 2006-
Previous 5: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 2 Jan 12, Villa 0-2 Swansea (h)
Cards: 🟥 🟨 🟨
Assistants: Peter Bankes, Gary Beswick
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Charles N'Zogbia, Marc Albrighton, Chris Herd and Carlos Cuéllar replace Alan Hutton, Ciaran Clark, Barry Bannan and Gary Gardner.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.75 |
Oldest Player |
GK Shay Given | 🇮🇪 | 36.03 |
Youngest Player |
F Andreas Weimann | 🇦🇹 | 20.73 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Alex McLeish | 🏴 |
Steve Bruce | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Shay Given | 🇮🇪 |
CB James Collins | 🏴 | 🔁 |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 |
CB Carlos Cuéllar | 🇪🇸 |
RB Eric Lichaj | 🇺🇸 |
M Stephen Ireland | 🇮🇪 |
M Chris Herd | 🇦🇺 |
W Charles N’Zogbia | 🇫🇷 | 🔁 |
W Marc Albrighton | 🏴 |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 | 🔁 |
F Andreas Weimann | 🇦🇹 |
Sunderland
GK Simon Mingolet | 🇧🇪 |
CB Michael Turner | 🏴 |
CB Matthew Kilgallon | 🏴 |
CB John O’Shea | 🏴 |
RB Phil Bardsley (ex) | 🏴 |
M Sebastian Larsson | 🇸🇪 |
M Craig Gardner (ex) | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🟨 | 🟥 | 🤡 |
M Jack Colback | 🏴 |
M Stéphane Sessègnon | 🇧🇯 |
W James McClean | 🇮🇪 |
CF Nicklas Bendtner | 🇩🇰 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 | for CB James Collins | 🏴 | 43’ |
🔁 CF Emile Heskey | 🏴 | for F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 | 48’ |
🔁 M Barry Bannan | 🏴 | for W Charles N’Zogbia | 🇫🇷 | 83’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CF Nicklas Bendtner | 🇩🇰 | 🟨 | (CF Fraizer Campbell | 🏴 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Brad Guzan | 🇺🇸 |
LB Stephen Warnock | 🏴 |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 |
M Samir Carruthers | 🇮🇪 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Kieren Westwood | 🇮🇪 |
LB Wayne Bridge | 🏴 |
CB Sotiris Kyrgiakos | 🇬🇷 |
M David Meyler | 🇮🇪 |
M David Vaughan | 🏴 |
CF Dong-won Ji | 🇰🇷 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI: £43.34m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 4/11
Homegrown: 5/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/18
Homegrown: 8/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
Team Cost: £39.91m
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 9/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 5 |
M Jermaine Jenas | 🏴 |
CB Richard Dunne | 🇮🇪 |
M Fabian Delph | 🏴 |
F Darren Bent | 🏴 |
CB Ciaran Clark | 🇮🇪 |
Illness | 1 |
M Stiliyan Petrov | 🇧🇬 |
Out on Loan | 1 |
M Jean Makoun | 🇨🇲 | Olympiacos Piraeus
UNAVAILABLE
Not Reported
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
Possession F | 45%
Possession A | 55%
Shots F | 12
Shots A | 10
Shots on Target F | 7
Shots on Target A | 5
Corners F | 8
Corners A | 5
Fouls F | 11
Fouls A | 8
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“Our boys made enough chances to win it.
“We’ve got four big battles to go and we are capable of taking points in every one. The boys played out of their skins to try to get the goal and to preserve our own goal.”
Alex McLeish.
“They’ve never known the reasons for leaving. I was expecting it and I got it. There’s the idea that I left them in the lurch. I apologise maybe.”
Martin O’Neill.
*BBC Sport*
Saturday, 21 April 2012
Gratitude is not easily afforded to former managers. Martin O’Neill should have expected better than the cacophony of boos that reverberated around Villa Park, drowning out much polite applause, as he sheepishly stepped out of the tunnel when he walked back in at half-time and full-time.
Despite managing Aston Villa to three top-six finishes and two Wembley outings, those achievements have been outweighed, in the eyes of some Villa fans, by the sudden, fractious nature of his exit.
But O’Neill was diplomatic afterwards, surprisingly saying sorry. “I think that’s very natural,” he said, discussing the unforgiving section of the home support.
“They’ve never known the reasons for leaving. I was expecting it and I got it. There’s the idea that I left them in the lurch. I apologise maybe.”
O’Neill’s body language looked uncomfortable when he emerged before kick-off and was not helped by his Sunderland side having a goal disallowed, when Nicklas Bendtner was penalised in a tight offside call.
It also proved an unhappy return for former midfielder Craig Gardner who was sent off late on.
Gardner was booed as he trudged from the field but took off his shirt to reveal a T-shirt showing his support for former team-mate Stiliyan Petrov. At least the Villa fans had the sense to applaud that.
Then again, they did not know who to boo at the end. Villa manager Alex McLeish did not do much to generate more warmth from his crowd with this result. This match proved another failure to turn pressure into goals with Andreas Weimann looking enthusiastic but proving wasteful.
“Our boys made enough chances to win it,” said McLeish. “We’ve got four big battles to go and we are capable of taking points in every one. The boys played out of their skins to try to get the goal and to preserve our own goal.”
Villa had quickly seized the initiative as Simon Mignolet saved from Weimann – after a poor Phil Bardsley back pass – then Gabriel Agbonlahor and Charles N’Zogbia both had shots diverted off target.
As the second half went on, a pattern emerged of Villa piling forward but not finding any cutting edge, while Sunderland kept creating excellent opportunities on the counter-attack.
Sebastian Larsson curled in a cross that Bendtner slid in to finish before the linesman’s flag curtailed celebrations
Sunderland’s frustration was compounded as Gardner received his second yellow for a late challenge on Barry Bannan. O’Neill looked a forlorn figure as he walked away.