Game #5347
Sunday, 7 August 2016
Attendance: 30,060
Lost
Championship
19th
Sheffield Wednesday
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟥
Hillsborough
Villa open the campaign in the second tier still ridded with many of the players that had presided over their worst ever season as it was the turn of a manager with questionable credentials once again to take over the hotseat.
Sheffield Wednesday
1-0
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Ross McCormack makes his debut carrying the hopes of an immediate return to the top flight, 7 August 2016
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
🟢 | 1’ Debut, Pierluigi Gollini, Tommy Elphick, Ross McCormack
🟨 | 41’ Booking, Tommy Elphick
🟨 | 45’ Booking, Gary Gardner
🕒 | HT Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Aston Villa
🟨 | 66’ Booking, Nathan Baker
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Gary Gardner, Sub on, Aaron Tshibola 🟢
🔁 | 70’ Sub off, Ross McCormack, Sub on, Jack Grealish
🥅 | 85’ Goal, 0-1, the (Sheffield Wednesday), Fernando Forestieri
🔁 | 86’ Sub off, Leandro Bacuna, Sub on, André Green
🕒 | FT Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Roberto Di Matteo’s first game as Villa boss and Villa’s first game in the second tier for 29 years
Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini made his Villa debut aged 21 after joining from Hellas Verona for a fee of £4,500,000 in July 2016.
Centre Tommy Elphick made his Villa debut aged 28 after joining from AFC Bournemouth for a fee of £3,510,000 in July 2016.
Forward Ross McCormack made his Villa debut aged 29 after joining from Fulham for a fee of £12,870,000 earlier this month.
Midfielder Aaron Tshibola made his Villa debut aged 21 as a 70’ substitute after joining from Reading for a fee of £5,310,000 in July 2016.
Former Villa midfielder Barry Bannan lined up for Wednesday.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Sheffield Wednesday
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1990–91
FIXTURE HISTORY
Sheffield Wednesday
Previous 5 vs. Wednesday: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟥
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season 2016-17
Matchday | #1 |
League Game | #1 |
Manager Game | #1 |
Sunday, 7 August 2016
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Roberto Di Matteo | 🇮🇹 | Schaffhausen, Switzerland, 2016
Referee: Steve Martin | 🏴 | Staffordshire, 2012-
Kick off: 4.30pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟥 🟥 🟨 🟥 🟥
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Steve Martin | 🏴 | Staffordshire, 2012-
Previous 5:
Last Match: None
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨
Assistants: Jonathan Hunt, Matt McGrath
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
With not all of the stench of relegation tainted players removed from the Villa squad, new boss Roberto Di Matteo retains Leandro Bacuna, Jordan Ayew, Rudy Gestede, Aly Cissokho and Ashley Westwood.
New signings Ross McCormack, Tommy Elphick and Pierluigi Gollini make their debuts.
Nathan Baker comes in after his season long, and relegation avoiding, loan away from the club.
Aaron Tshibola, Roberto Di Matteo’s left field and expensive signing from Reading, makes his squad debut.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age: | 26.77 |
Oldest Player: RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 | 31.71 |
Youngest Player: GK Pierluigi Gollini | 🇮🇹 | 21.41 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Roberto Di Matteo | 🇮🇹 |
Carlos Carvalhal | 🇵🇹 |
Aston Villa
GK Pierluigi Gollini | 🇮🇹 | 🟢 |
LB Aly Cissokho | 🇫🇷 |
RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | 🟨 |
CB Tommy Elphick | 🏴 | 🟢 | 🟨 |
M Leandro Bacuna | 🇨🇼 | 🔁 |
M Ashley Westwood | 🏴 |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
F Jordan Ayew | 🇬🇭 |
F Rudy Gestede | 🇧🇯 |
F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | 🟢 | 🔁 |
Sheffield Wednesday
GK Kieren Westwood | 🇮🇪 |
LB Daniel Pudil | 🇨🇿 |
CB Tom Lees | 🏴 | 🟨 |
RB Jack Hunt | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Kieran Lee | 🏴 |
M Almen Abdi |🇨🇭|
M Sam Hutchinson | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Ross Wallace | 🏴 | 🟨 | 🔁 |
M Barry Bannan (ex) | 🏴 |
CF Steven Fletcher | 🏴 | 🔁 |
F Fernando Forestieri | 🇮🇹 | ⚽ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 M Aaron Tshibola | 🏴 | 🟢 | for M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | 70’ |
🔁 M Jack Grealish | 🏴 | for F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | 77’ |
🔁 W André Green | 🏴 | for M Leandro Bacuna | 🇨🇼 | 86’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CF Gary Hooper | 🏴 | for CF Steven Fletcher | 🏴 | 27’ |
🔁 | CF Atdhe Nuhiu | 🇽🇰 | for M Ross Wallace | 🏴 | 67’ |
🔁 | RB Liam Palmer | 🏴 | for RB Jack Hunt | 🏴 | 84’ |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Mark Bunn | 🏴 |
CB Micah Richards | 🏴 |
CB Jores Okore | 🇩🇰 |
LB Jordan Amavi | 🇫🇷 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Joe Wildsmith | 🏴 |
M José Semedo | 🇵🇹 |
M Jérémy Hélan | 🇫🇷 |
CF Lucas João | 🇵🇹 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI Cost: £49.14m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Homegrown: 2/11
Subs Cost: £5.31m
Team Cost: £54.45m
Squad Cost: £68.58m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/18
Homegrown: 4/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
GK Pierluigi Gollini | 🇮🇹 | £4.50m |
GK Mark Bunn | 🏴 | Free |
LB Jordan Amavi | 🇫🇷 | £9.90m |
RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 | £4.05m |
LB Aly Cissokho | 🇫🇷 | £2.25m |
CB Jores Okore | 🇩🇰 | £4.23m |
CB Tommy Elphick | 🏴 | £3.51m |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | Youth |
CB Micah Richards | 🏴 | Free |
M Aaron Tshibola | 🏴 | £5.31m |
M Ashley Westwood | 🏴 | £2.25m |
M Leandro Bacuna | 🇨🇼 | £1.26m |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | Youth |
M Jack Grealish | 🏴 | Youth |
W André Green | 🏴 | Youth |
F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | £12.87m |
F Jordan Ayew | 🇬🇭 | £10.80m |
CF Rudy Gestede | 🇧🇯 | £7.65m |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI Cost: £6.69m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 7/11
Homegrown: ⭕/11
Subs Cost: £3.38m
Team Cost: £10.07m
Squad Cost: £12.83m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 10/18
Homegrown: 2/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
GK Joe Wildsmith | 🏴 | Youth |
GK Kieren Westwood | 🇮🇪 | Free |
RB Liam Palmer | 🏴 | Youth |
LB Daniel Pudil | 🇨🇿 | Free |
RB Jack Hunt | 🏴 | Free |
CB Tom Lees | 🏴 | Free |
M Almen Abdi |🇨🇭| £3.12m |
M Jérémy Hélan | 🇫🇷 | £0.35m |
M Kieran Lee | 🏴 | Free |
M Ross Wallace | 🏴 | Free |
M Barry Bannan (ex) | 🏴 | Free |
M José Semedo | 🇵🇹 | Free |
M Sam Hutchinson | 🏴 | Loan |
F Fernando Forestieri | 🇮🇹 | £3.57m |
CF Gary Hooper | 🏴 | £3.38m |
CF Lucas João | 🇵🇹 | £2.41m |
CF Steven Fletcher | 🏴 | Free |
CF Atdhe Nuhiu | 🇽🇰 | Free |
UNAVAILABLE
Out on Loan | 4 |
LB Riccardo Calder | 🏴 | Doncaster
W Carles Gil | 🇪🇸 | Deportivo
CB Easah Suliman | 🏴 | Cheltenham
RB Niall Mason | 🏴 | Doncaster
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
GK Pierluigi Gollini | 🇮🇹 |
CB Tommy Elphick | 🏴 |
F Ross McCormack | 🏴 |
M Aaron Tshibola | 🏴 |
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Possession F | 48%
Possession A | 52%
Shots F | 12
Shots A | 17
Shots on Target F | 2
Shots on Target A | 6
Corners F | 9
Corners A | 12
Fouls F | 9
Fouls A | 14
TABLE
PROGRAMME

MATCHDAY QUOTES
*Villa boss Roberto di Matteo*
”With 10 minutes to go, you’re away from home against a good side, you’d like to see the game out. If you can’t win it, don’t lose it.
“Unfortunately it was an error from us that gave them the goal, but I thought that in the second half we were a very good team and had some excellent opportunities to score.
“It’s very harsh for us to take because I’d like the opposition to do something special to score, rather than give them a goal.
“We have to learn from this situation - we’ve only been together for five weeks and you can see they’ve been together for a much longer time.”
*BBC Sport*
Saturday, 7 August 2016
*Aston Villa’s first game in the second tier since 1988 ended in defeat as Fernando Forestieri’s late goal gave Sheffield Wednesday victory in their Championship opener at Hillsborough.*
Forestieri pounced on a poor clearance by Villa goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini to slot in an 85th-minute winner.
Roberto di Matteo’s Villa improved as the game progressed after a slow start.
They looked on course for a point until Forestieri’s intervention for last season’s beaten play-off finalists.
Gollini had twice denied the Italian forward during the second period but was powerless to rectify his kicking error as Forestieri raced clear before finishing coolly into the corner of the net.
Jordan Ayew and Rudy Gestede both had headers saved and Ashley Westwood also drilled two long-range shots just wide as Villa, aiming to return to the Premier League at the first attempt under new boss Di Matteo, made a creditable but ultimately pointless start to life in the Championship.
Chances were scarce during a cagey first period, which was interrupted for five minutes while Owls debutant Steven Fletcher and Villa captain Tommy Elphick received treatment following a nasty clash of heads.
Scotland striker Fletcher required 10 stitches in a head wound and was unable to continue.
Villa’s new £12m front man Ross McCormack was denied a debut goal by Tom Lees’ last-ditch tackle shortly before his withdrawal after 77 minutes.
*Aston Villa boss Roberto di Matteo told BBC WM:*
”With 10 minutes to go, you’re away from home against a good side, you’d like to see the game out. If you can’t win it, don’t lose it.
“Unfortunately it was an error from us that gave them the goal, but I thought that in the second half we were a very good team and had some excellent opportunities to score.
“It’s very harsh for us to take because I’d like the opposition to do something special to score, rather than give them a goal.
“We have to learn from this situation - we’ve only been together for five weeks and you can see they’ve been together for a much longer time.”