Aston Villa were back in action on Wednesday night, as we fell to a 1-0 defeat to Walsall in our opening game of our pre-season schedule.
Little was expected from the game other than being a decent run-out for some of the players to start getting back up to speed, with Unai Emery going with a young squad given many of our senior players only returned to Bodymoor Heath earlier this week.
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After breaking the deadlock in the first half, Walsall held on to secure the win with Villa having chances after the break to turn things around, albeit the result likely meant little to Emery and the players.
Despite the outcome though, there were positives to take from the game, as we now prepare to head to Hansa Rostock this weekend to continue our pre-season preparations.
Gauci injury hopefully nothing serious
The main thing at this stage of the summer is to get every player through unscathed and avoid injuries, but unfortunately Villa weren’t quite able to do that after Joe Gauci was forced off after just 25 minutes or so.
It looked a precautionary decision after he took a knock to his right thigh, and although he’ll slide down the pecking order as the summer develops, Emery will want every player fit and training in the coming weeks.
In turn, while it was a positive to see 22 players get valuable minutes, it’s hoped that we haven’t got our first absentee of the summer due to injury next time out.
Rowe, Mosquera impress in first half
This was very much a first game of the summer type performance, and so there wasn’t much in the way of quality or even goalscoring opportunities until things opened up in the second half.
However, both Triston Rowe and Yeimar Mosquera stood out in the opening 45 minutes, as the defensive pair both looked comfortable in possession and helped us build out from the back with composure and efficiency.
It’s hoped that they get more minutes in pre-season to continue to develop and integrate, but it will be interesting to see what the plan is for them both for the upcoming campaign in terms of staying at the club or going out on loan.
Hemmings the stand-out performer
It’s always nice to see a young player who impresses emerge in pre-season, and midfielder George Hemmings was arguably that man at the Bescot Stadium with his performance in the second half.
Not only was the 18-year-old constantly looking to find space and receive the ball in an encouraging sign of his confidence and belief, but he displayed real technical ability in possession to help link things together and give us fluidity in midfield.
There was a lot to like about his performance, and while some would have already been aware of his potential, we’ll now hope to see a lot more of him in our remaining pre-season friendlies.
Ozcan gives us another option at left-back
New recruit Yasin Ozcan made his first Villa appearance after the break, and having been deployed at left-back, or on the left of a three-man backline, the Turkish defender made a positive first impression.
His positional awareness was sound, he was composed in possession and even had a long-distance effort that almost drew us level.
Time will tell if Lucas Digne will remain at the club this summer to compete with Ian Maatsen, while Alex Moreno also featured in this game. Ozcan though gives Emery another option in that role if needed, and it will be intriguing to monitor his progress this summer.
Glad to have the Villa back
As noted above, it was never going to be a vintage Villa performance given the stage we’re at in pre-season and with so many senior players missing.
While it would have been nice to get a win first up and build on that, this was purely about getting minutes across the board for every player included in the squad, and that box was very much ticked.
Beyond all that though, it was great to have the Villa back on the pitch and analysing some football again, albeit it’s only been a matter of 52 days since we were last in action. Nevertheless, roll on Hansa Rostock on Saturday as we continue our work ahead of the new Premier League season next month.
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