Game #5372
Monday, 2 January 2017
Attendance: 21,391
Lost
Championship
13th (-4)
Cardiff City
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟨 🟥
Cardiff City Stadium
Villa open 2017 with a fourth defeat in fourteen under Steve Bruce as Neil Warnock's side take physicality to another level.
Cardiff City
1-0
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Jack Grealish, kicked from "pillar to post" by Warnock's side, only to receive a booking for complaining, Monday, 2 January 2017.
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
🥅 | 16’ Goal, 0-1, (Cardiff City), Joe Ralls
🟨 | 42’ Booking, James Chester
🕒 | HT Cardiff City 1-0 Aston Villa
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Ashley Westwood, Sub on, Aaron Tshibola
🔁 | 46’ Sub off, Gary Gardner, Sub on, Gabriel Agbonlahor
🟨 | 60’ Booking, Jack Grealish
🟨 | 78’ Booking, Leandro Bacuna
🔁 | 82’ Sub off, Ross McCormack, Sub on, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy
🟨 | 85’ Booking, Alan Hutton
🕒 | FT Cardiff City 1-0 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Steve Bruce's Villa open 2017 with a defeat to a Cardiff side who started the year in the drop zone. Villa fall to 13th in the table as a result.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Cardiff City
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: 🏆
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: 1926-27
FIXTURE HISTORY
Cardiff City
Previous 5 vs. Cardiff: 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟨 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2016-17 |
Matchday | #26 |
League Game | #25 |
Manager Game | #14 |
Monday, 2 January 2017
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Steve Bruce | 🏴 | Northumberland, 2016-2018
Referee: Andy Davies | 🏴 | Hampshire, 2012-
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟩 🟨 🟥
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Andy Davies | 🏴 | Hampshire, 2012-
Previous 5:
Last Match: None
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨
Assistants: Tim Wood, Daniel Leach
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Gary Gardner, Albert Adomah and Ross McCormack replace Jordan Ayew, Mile Jedinak (injury) and Jonathan Kodjia (injury).
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age: | 27.12 |
Oldest Player: GK Mark Bunn | 🏴 | 32.15 |
Youngest Player: M Jack Grealish | 🏴 | 21.33 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Steve Bruce | 🏴 |
Neil Warnock | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Mark Bunn | 🏴 |
LB Jordan Amavi | 🇫🇷 |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 |
CB James Chester | 🏴 | 🟨 |
RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Ashley Westwood | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Jack Grealish | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Leandro Bacuna | 🇨🇼 | 🟨 |
W Albert Adomah | 🇬🇭 |
F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | 🔁 |
Cardiff City
GK Brian Murphy | 🇮🇪 |
LB Joe Bennett (ex) | 🏴 | 🔁 |
CB Sean Morrison | 🏴 |
CB Bruno Écuélé Manga | 🇬🇦 |
CB Sol Bamba | 🇨🇮 | 🟨 |
RB Lee Peltier | 🏴 | 🟨 |
M Joe Ralls | 🏴 | ⚽ | 🟨 |
M Aron Gunnarsson | 🇮🇸 | 🟨 |
W Kadeem Harris | 🏴 |
W Junior Hoilett | 🇨🇦 | 🔁 |
CF Kenneth Zohoré | 🇩🇰 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 M Aaron Tshibola | 🏴 | for M Ashley Westwood | 🏴 | 46’ |
🔁 F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 | for M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | 46’ |
🔁 F Rushian Hepburn-Murphy | 🏴 | for F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | 82’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | W Craig Noone | 🏴 | for W Junior Hoilett | 🇨🇦 | 37’ |
🔁 | CB Matthew Connolly | 🏴 | for LB Joe Bennett (ex) | 🏴 | 83’ |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Pierluigi Gollini | 🇮🇹 |
CB Tommy Elphick | 🏴 |
LB Aly Cissokho | 🇫🇷 |
F Jordan Ayew | 🇬🇭 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Ben Wilson | 🏴 |
RB Jazz Richards | 🏴 |
M Emyr Huws | 🏴 |
W Anthony Pilkington | 🇮🇪 |
CF Rickie Lambert | 🏴 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI Cost: £41.85m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/11
Homegrown: 3/11
Subs Cost: £5.31m
Team Cost: £47.16m
Squad Cost: £68.22m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 12/18
Homegrown: 5/18
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 James Chester | 🏴 | £8.37m |
CB Tommy Elphick | 🏴 | £3.51m |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | Youth |
M Aaron Tshibola | 🏴 | £5.31m |
M Ashley Westwood | 🏴 | £2.25m |
M Leandro Bacuna | 🇨🇼 | £1.26m |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 | Youth |
M Jack Grealish | 🏴 | Youth |
W Albert Adomah | 🇬🇭 | £3.15m |
F Ross McCormack | 🏴 | £12.87m |
F Jordan Ayew | 🇬🇭 | £10.80m |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 | Youth |
F Rushian Hepburn-Murphy | 🏴 | Youth |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI Cost: £8.79m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 5/11
Homegrown: 1/11
Subs Cost: £1.63m
Team Cost: £10.42m
Squad Cost: £13.22m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 11/18
Homegrown: 1/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
GK Bryan Murphy | 🇮🇪 | Free |
GK Ben Wilson | 🏴 | Free |
LB Joe Bennett (ex) | 🏴 | Free |
RB Lee Peltier | 🏴 | Free |
RB Jazz Richards | 🏴 | Free |
CB Bruno Ecuele Manga | 🇬🇦 | £5.42m |
CB Sean Morrison | 🏴 | £3.22m |
CB Matthew Connolly | 🏴 | £0.55m |
CB Sol Bamba | 🇨🇮 | Free |
M Joe Ralls | 🏴 | Youth |
M Emyr Huws | 🏴 | Free |
M Aron Gunnarsson | 🇮🇸 | Free |
W Craig Noone | 🏴 | £1.08m |
W Anthony Pilkington | 🇮🇪 | £1.08m |
W Kadeem Harris | 🏴 | £0.15m |
W Junior Hoilett | 🇨🇦 | Free |
CF Rickie Lambert | 🏴 | £1.72m |
CF Kenneth Zohoré | 🇩🇰 | Free |
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 3 |
CB Micah Richards | 🏴 |
M Mile Jedinak | 🇦🇺 |
CF Jonathan Kodjia | 🇨🇮 |
Out on Loan | 8 |
LB Riccardo Calder | 🏴 | Doncaster
W Carles Gil | 🇪🇸 | Deportivo
CB Easah Suliman | 🏴 | Cheltenham
RB Niall Mason | 🏴 | Doncaster
M Carlos Sánchez | 🇨🇴 | Fiorentina
M Jordan Veretout | 🇫🇷 | Saint-Étienne
CB Kevin Toner | 🇮🇪 | Walsall
F Harry McKirdy | 🏴 | Stevenage
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
F Jordan Ayew | 🇬🇭 | Final Squad Appearance |
MATCH STATS
Possession F | 50%
Possession A | 50%
Shots F | 9
Shots A | 4
Shots on Target F | 6
Shots on Target A | 0
Corners F | 4
Corners A | 7
Fouls F | 15
Fouls A | 14
TABLE
PROGRAMME

MATCHDAY QUOTES
“It was a slow start - it was that slow that we stopped.
“That’s two or three times we’ve done that now and the first half was nowhere near the performance required. The only thing I can put it down to is mentality.
“We’re arguably the biggest club in this division and that makes us a scalp but if we don’t find the right mentality, we won’t achieve what we want.”
Steve Bruce, Monday, 2 January 2017.
*Sky Sports*
Monday, 2 January 2017
Cardiff held on for a 1-0 win over Aston Villa to move clear of the Championship relegation zone.
Joe Ralls scored the game’s only goal, the midfielder putting the Bluebirds ahead in the first half. The home side were full value for their half-time lead and although they had some nervy moments in the second, they stayed tight in defence and goalkeeper Brian Murphy made two excellent saves to seal the three points.
Villa, without Middlesbrough-bound striker Rudy Gestede, felt they should have had an early free-kick when Jack Grealish went down on the edge of the box. Referee Andy Davies waved away those appeals and with the home side looking dangerous from set-pieces, they soon moved ahead.
A Joe Bennett corner from the right was not cleared, the loose ball causing havoc in the Villa box. A goalmouth scramble followed, the rebound hitting Ralls and finding the bottom corner without the Cardiff man knowing much about it.
The goal seemed to give Neil Warnock’s side belief and Junior Hoilett tested Mark Bunn before Kadeem Harris should have done better from a Lee Peltier pull-back.
Ashley Westwood shot over and Leandro Bacuna saw his free-kick deflected for Villa but the home side should have added a second before the break. Kenneth Zohore hit the bar from just a few yards out and just a minute later, the striker was through on goal again though his shot was blocked.
Villa needed to improve in the second half and Steve Bruce’s introduction of Gabriel Agbonlahor and Aaron Tshibola at the break said everything about their display to that point. Their arrival had little impact though as Cardiff got to the hour mark still with a one-goal lead.
Aron Gunnarsson had shot wide for Cardiff, but their advantage nearly disappeared when Ross McCormack’s free-kick beat Murphy but not the crossbar.
Almost all of Davies’ decisions were now going against the home side, much to the crowd’s anger. It created a hostile atmosphere for the final 20 minutes, Harris bringing a save from Bunn before Murphy then denied Agbonlahor’s curling effort with an acrobatic dive.
Villa, who have designs on a play-off spot, were the ones now dominating the ball and Agbonlahor tested Bunn again and Tshibola fired wide. The chances kept coming and Alan Hutton appealed for a penalty late on but Steve Bruce’s side just could not break through.