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Bafétimbi Gomis strikes for Swansea to end Aston Villa resurgence Bafétimbi Gomis strikes for Swansea to end Aston Villa resurgence
(about 3 hours later)
Tim Sherwood had targeted the victory that would give his players some “breathing space” in their battle against relegation but familiar failings resurfaced on a chastening afternoon for the Aston Villa manager. Toothless up front, Villa were undone by a classic counter-attack in the 87th minute when Bafétimbi Gomis, who had squandered a hatful of chances and cut a frustrated figure for long periods, slid home Jefferson Montero’s inch-perfect cross. Tim Sherwood had targeted the victory that would give his players some breathing space in their battle against relegation but familiar failings resurfaced on a chastening afternoon for the Aston Villa manager. Toothless up front, Villa were undone by a classic counterattack in the 87th minute when Bafétimbi Gomis, who had cut a frustrated figure for long periods, slid home Jefferson Montero’s inch-perfect cross.
This was the Villa of old rather than the team that swept aside Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Chasing a fourth consecutive win in all competitions, Sherwood’s side were sluggish and offered little as an attacking force on a bitterly cold afternoon in the Midlands. The only consolation for Villa was that Burnley’s defeat at Southampton means that they remain three points above the drop zone. With Villa chasing a fourth consecutive win in all competitions, Sherwood described the result as a reality check for those that viewed the 4-0 thumping of Sunderland as a leap towards survival. Villa remain three points clear of the relegation zone but face a daunting run of games, with three of their next four fixtures away, at Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City. Their other match is a relegation scrap at home against Queens Park Rangers that looks absolutely crucial.
Swansea have no such concerns. After back-to-back defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, Garry Monk’s side picked up a win that keeps them on course to pass the 47-point barrier and set a new club record. Wayne Routledge should have added a second in the dying moments when he sprinted clear but Brad Guzan came off his line to smother. On this evidence nothing can be taken for granted. This felt like the Villa of old rather than the rejuvenated team that swept aside Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Villa looked flat, especially in the first half, and although there was an improvement after the interval the home team never did enough as an attacking force to open Swansea up.
After starting like a house on fire at Sunderland last Saturday, Villa struggled to light the touch paper here. It was 34 minutes before they registered a shot on goal and by that point Swansea had failed to take a couple of excellent chances at the other end, with Gomis letting Villa off the hook. A smattering of boos at the half-time whistle reflected the disappointment among some home supporters. Gabriel Agbonlahor had a goalbound shot blocked by Neil Taylor and Scott Sinclair volleyed narrowly over moments after Swansea scored but Villa were huffing and puffing for the most part. At the other end, Gomis, who was making only his second appearance since fainting at Tottenham Hotspur, squandered three decent opportunities before finding his range, the Frenchman slotting the ball beyond Brad Guzan to leave Villa firmly in the mire.
Swansea’s first opportunity arrived inside six minutes following a fine move down their left flank. Receiving possession from Jonjo Shelvey just outside the Villa area, Gylfi Sigurdsson showed some neat footwork before threading a lovely pass that released Neil Taylor. Taylor’s cut-back from close to the byline picked out Gomis but the Frenchman’s left-footed shot from about eight yards was blocked by Brad Guzan. “We’re right in it,” Sherwood said. “Every point is vital and we need to pick up as many as we can to keep ourselves safe. We want to do it as quickly as we possibly can, but sometimes you get a kick in the … and that happened to us today. It’s a setback but we’ll pick ourselves up and be all right.”
With Villa playing a high defensive line, there was space in behind for Swansea to exploit but Gomis lacked the pace to take advantage. Shelvey played the Swansea striker through in the 14th minute and for a moment opportunity knocked but Gomis never showed any conviction, tried to come inside and shift the ball on to his favoured left foot and the chance was gone. The result felt more disappointing for Villa coming on the back of their emphatic victory at Sunderland. “You win 4-0 last week and everyone is jumping up and down, but we knew that there was still a lot of hard work to be done,” Sherwood said. “It’s a reality check – not for us, because we knew there was a lot of work to be done – but perhaps for people looking in from the outside.” Swansea have no such concerns. The Welsh club sit eighth, unable to get into Europe and under no threat of relegation, and yet there is no sense that they are coasting towards the end of the season and thinking about their summer holidays.
Apart from a few driving runs from Charles N’Zogbia that roused the Villa fans, Sherwood’s team looked flat and short of ideas. Tom Cleverley limped off with a groin injury after only 25 minutes, forcing an early change, but Villa continued to struggle to play with any fluency. Federico Fernández, back in the team after missing Monday’s defeat against Liverpool because of family reasons, was outstanding in central defence while Montero’s electric pace on the left, after Monk withdrew Gylfi Sigurdsson and changed to a 4-2-3-1 formation, caught the eye.
Their best moment in the first half arrived when Scott Sinclair set Fabian Delph free in the inside-left channel and the Villa captain struck an angled left-footed shot that Lukasz Fabianski repelled at the near post. Two minutes later there was another reprieve for Villa at the other end when Ciaran Clark cleared Wayne Routledge’s shot off the line. It is Gomis, though, who will have taken most satisfaction from the game, especially after what happened at White Hart Lane. “Of course it was a concern, but we understand Bafe’s situation and I think you’ve seen from his last two performances that there is no stopping him,” Monk said. “His commitment, his effort, his workrate was incredible. Yes, he would have been disappointed not to have taken a couple of the early chances but it typified the character of the team what he did in the second half. He persevered, kept pushing and he got his goal in the end. So all credit to him.”
A miskick from Sinclair and a couple of chances for Swansea shortly after the interval suggested that the second half could follow a similar pattern to the first. Sigurdsson’s 30-yard free-kick forced Guzan into a fingertip save and moments later Gomis ought to have done better with a far-post header from Routledge’s inviting centre. The Frenchman was inside the six-yard box and towering over the Villa defence when he nodded over. All three of Gomis’s Premier League goals have come late and proved to be match winners. It was a lovely breakaway move that provided the defining moment in this slow burner of a game. Wayne Routledge fed Montero on the left and the Ecuador international delivered a splendid ball with the outside of the boot that implored the onrushing Gomis to score. Guzan had denied him twice in the first half and Ciaran Clark kept another effort out but this time the Swansea striker made no mistake. Routledge could, and should, have added a second in the dying seconds.
At least a dour game was starting to flicker into life and produce a bit more goalmouth action. Gabriel Agbonlahor had his head in his hands in the 57th minute after Taylor made a superbly-timed challenge to deflect the Villa striker’s shot, from just outside the six-yard box, past the upright. Sinclair, playing against his former club, also skidded a low effort across the face of goal.
Swansea had started to lose their way, prompting Monk to withdrew Sigurdsson, bring on Montero and switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation. Montero’s pace immediately caused Villa problems, with one raid down the left carving out a chance for Gomis only for the forward to see Clark produce a timely block. When the two Swansea players combined again with three minutes remaining, Gomis made no mistake from eight yards.