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Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa: Gabriel Agbonlahor Deuce Downs Cottagers
Friedel guarantees Villa's clean-sheet as side rediscovers scoring touch.
Jan 30, 2010 11:55:00 AM
By Alan Dawson
Fulham 0-2 Aston Villa, lineup/stats
Premier League, fixtures/results
Following a failure to find the net in four previous fixtures, Aston Villa traveled to Fulham with the intention of re-fueling their Premier League campaign.
Martin O'Neill's allegedly scathing critique of Arsene Wenger's sentiments following their mid-week 0-0 tie with the Gunners appeared to deflect attention away from a minor barren run, and onto the Ulsterman.
However, a first-half Gabriel Agbonlahor brace will no doubt ensure that the Villans boss' frown has been turned upside down, as the three points claimed mean they are once again at the head of the Champions League qualification chasing pack.
Villa's victory was by no means a formality, as Roy Hodgson's Craven Cottage side were set-up to frustrate O'Neill's, and a flurry of chances in the opening quarter of an hour - should they have been converted - would have guaranteed an alternative scoreline.
Powerfully-framed striker Bobby Zamora, Irish winger Damien Duff and Simon Davies each had a chance to steal the lead, but canny defending protected Brad Friedel's net.
Burgeoning defensive ace James Collins deflected Zamora's goal-bound shot in the sixth-minute, a Friedel save denied Duff, and the American shot-stopper was again on guard to parry clear Davies' volleyed shot just moments later in the ninth.
The Midland visitors eventually began to nullify Fulham's initial superiority, and even had seemingly clear-cut opportunities to break the deadlock before finally gaining the advantage five minutes before the break.
Stilyan Petrov, a fundamental component to Villa's potency, struck skyward in the 35th, but his pass to Agbonlahor five minutes later was inch-perfect as the pacey English forward capitalized on the decisive, lofted assist. The headed shot, that Mark Schwarzer was able to get a mitt on, powerfully found the near post and into the net.
Villa's ascendancy in the first half was only complete four minutes later, when defender Carlos Cuellar's pass allowed Agbonlahor to again slot into a goal-scoring position. Despite Brede Hangeland's attempts at shrugging Agbonlahor off, Villa's academy graduate was able to lift a curling strike into the top left hand corner of the net; much to the delight of the traveling support.
Either Hodgson's half-time team talk, or the chorus of home boos emanating from the Cottage terraces, (most probably the former), served to inspire the home side as they re-entered the pitch in the second half with all the intent but none of the goals to show.
Two "zee"'s began to combine perfectly, as Zamora and Zoltan Gera managed to exploit the holes in Villa's guard. Both of whom, though, had strikes blocked ten minutes into the concluding 45; the former then finding the latter with a deft pass moments later, yet last-gasp palming from Friedel again helped Villa's hopes for a successful shut-out.
In a similar fashion to the first-half, Villa grew into the game after a period of home dominance, and Agbonlahor could have sealed his hat-trick had it not been for Hangeland's heriocs as his sliding tackle was timed perfectly in the 70th minute.
Swedish forward David Elm, bought for £500000 from Kalmar FF, had the ball in the net to halve Villa's lead 15 minutes from time, yet his exquisitely struck goal was chalked off for offside.
For the latest news and updates from Goal.com, follow our Twitter account!
Premier League, fixtures/results
Following a failure to find the net in four previous fixtures, Aston Villa traveled to Fulham with the intention of re-fueling their Premier League campaign.
Martin O'Neill's allegedly scathing critique of Arsene Wenger's sentiments following their mid-week 0-0 tie with the Gunners appeared to deflect attention away from a minor barren run, and onto the Ulsterman.
However, a first-half Gabriel Agbonlahor brace will no doubt ensure that the Villans boss' frown has been turned upside down, as the three points claimed mean they are once again at the head of the Champions League qualification chasing pack.
Villa's victory was by no means a formality, as Roy Hodgson's Craven Cottage side were set-up to frustrate O'Neill's, and a flurry of chances in the opening quarter of an hour - should they have been converted - would have guaranteed an alternative scoreline.
Powerfully-framed striker Bobby Zamora, Irish winger Damien Duff and Simon Davies each had a chance to steal the lead, but canny defending protected Brad Friedel's net.
Burgeoning defensive ace James Collins deflected Zamora's goal-bound shot in the sixth-minute, a Friedel save denied Duff, and the American shot-stopper was again on guard to parry clear Davies' volleyed shot just moments later in the ninth.
The Midland visitors eventually began to nullify Fulham's initial superiority, and even had seemingly clear-cut opportunities to break the deadlock before finally gaining the advantage five minutes before the break.
Stilyan Petrov, a fundamental component to Villa's potency, struck skyward in the 35th, but his pass to Agbonlahor five minutes later was inch-perfect as the pacey English forward capitalized on the decisive, lofted assist. The headed shot, that Mark Schwarzer was able to get a mitt on, powerfully found the near post and into the net.
Villa's ascendancy in the first half was only complete four minutes later, when defender Carlos Cuellar's pass allowed Agbonlahor to again slot into a goal-scoring position. Despite Brede Hangeland's attempts at shrugging Agbonlahor off, Villa's academy graduate was able to lift a curling strike into the top left hand corner of the net; much to the delight of the traveling support.
Either Hodgson's half-time team talk, or the chorus of home boos emanating from the Cottage terraces, (most probably the former), served to inspire the home side as they re-entered the pitch in the second half with all the intent but none of the goals to show.
Two "zee"'s began to combine perfectly, as Zamora and Zoltan Gera managed to exploit the holes in Villa's guard. Both of whom, though, had strikes blocked ten minutes into the concluding 45; the former then finding the latter with a deft pass moments later, yet last-gasp palming from Friedel again helped Villa's hopes for a successful shut-out.
In a similar fashion to the first-half, Villa grew into the game after a period of home dominance, and Agbonlahor could have sealed his hat-trick had it not been for Hangeland's heriocs as his sliding tackle was timed perfectly in the 70th minute.
Swedish forward David Elm, bought for £500000 from Kalmar FF, had the ball in the net to halve Villa's lead 15 minutes from time, yet his exquisitely struck goal was chalked off for offside.
For the latest news and updates from Goal.com, follow our Twitter account!
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