Villa Park - Aston Villa
February 26th 2005
Vs Everton, Premier League, 3pm
By Debbie Smaje
Villa Park -
Aston Villa
February 26th 2005
Vs Everton, Premier League, 3pm
By
Debbie Smaje
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1. Why you were
looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be) I had previously visited Villa Park for the FA Trophy Final in 2003, and was very impressed. A good away pub, big passionate crowd, and a brilliant ground. However, the last time Everton won there was in 1987, so I wasn't all that confident of a win! Circumstances always seem to conspire against us at Villa Park. 2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking? Used the
official coach, but there
seemed to be plenty of parking around, mostly street parking. We headed for the same
pub we had been in last time (The Cap and Gown) but on arriving there, it
turned out that the police were not letting any more in, and told us to go
to the off license next door if we wanted a drink! 10 minutes later, after a
lot of police dogs had arrived, the police then tried to round everyone up
and frogmarch us into the ground. Since we weren't drinking alcohol, they
let us go, but the others were escorted straight into the ground with over 2
hours to go until kick off. A bit over the top, and after a quick walk
around the outside of the ground, we went inside. The three home sides of the ground are very impressive to look at, inside and out. The away end is another matter entirely. Only one of each gender toilets for 4,000 people, one food kiosk, and only one entrance/exit to the seating area (There are in fact additional toilets, and another food kiosk on the other side of the stand, There is also another exit, but the Club tend not to use it - Ed). After the game, you can imagine how long it took 4,000 of us to get through one small gate. 5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc.. |
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We were absolutely brilliant from the first minute! Villa had no answer and were torn apart, Leon Osman headed in unmarked after 15 minutes in front of the Holte End, and it should have been 4 or 5 by haf time. But then it all went wrong for a while! Less than a minute into the second half, Luke Moore robbed Yobo and crossed low into the box, where Nigel Martyn could only parry it into Solano who had a tap in. The silent Villa fans began to sing then, but within another minute, we were 2-1 up! Bent chased down a defender, and crossed for Cahill to head in unmarked right in front of us and send us barmy! The second half followed the same pattern of the first, and a run and pass from Cahill left Osman unmarked in the centre of the goal and he tapped in his second of the day. Not quite total football, but our best performance for years, probably since the last time we won at Villa Park, in the season we were last crowned Champions! The atmosphere in the away end was brilliant, another one with excellent acoustics!
6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game
Took a little while getting out of the city, even with a Police escort. Would be murder getting away without one.
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out
Despite the away end being one of the worst in the Premiership, I still love this ground. All away games in the Midlands seem to be a good day out. The result and performance were outstanding, one I wont forget in a hurry!
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