Match ends, Aston Villa 1, Southampton 1.
Aston VillaAston Villa1SouthamptonSouthampton1
- Villa without win since mid-September
- Lowest league attendance at Villa Park in 15 years
- Agbonlahor goal first conceded by Saints in 439 mins
- Only five shots on target in whole game
Nathaniel Clyne denied Aston Villa a much-needed win as his late goal rescued a point for a disappointing Southampton side.
The England right-back buried Ryan Bertrand's cross to reduce the gap on leaders Chelsea to six points.
Villa went ahead when Gabriel Agbonlahor took advantage of an error of judgement from Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster to score.
But Saints' pressure finally told when Clyne side-footed home from 12 yards.
Ronald Koeman's side dominated possession - completing 229 passes more than the hosts - and undoubtedly deserved a share of the spoils.
But with their next three games coming against Manchester City,Arsenal and Manchester United, Koeman will be concerned at the lack of quality in the final third on display from his side against Villa's packed defence.
| Chris Waddle on BBC Radio 5 live |
|---|
| "Southampton have got more quality, but you have to give Aston Villa a lot of credit - the way the entire team put a tremendous shift in. |
| "They played on the counter attack, tried to nick a result, and you will see that for most of the season from Villa. |
| "They are not a team who are going to pass it around but they have a lot of pace and a lot of power." |
They managed only four shots on target all evening, and Villa keeper Brad Guzan had rarely been forced into serious action until Clyne's well-taken finish nine minutes from time.
Villa stopped a run of three straight home defeats but have not won since beating Liverpool on 13 September.
And few of the crowd of 25,311 - the lowest league attendance at Villa Park since December 1999 - will remember Paul Lambert's 100th game in charge with much fondness.
Lambert's side have scored just six league goals in 12 games and Agbonlahor's opener was their only genuine attempt in an evening where they lined up to frustrate Southampton and hit on the break.
It was a limited gameplan, but one which worked for the opening goal. Ciaran Clark's hammered clearance split the Southampton central defenders and Agbonlahor made the most of hesitation between Toby Alderweireld and Forster to nip in and steer home from a tight angle.
Southampton continued to probe for an opening but with Shane Long struggling in the hole behind Graziano Pelle, they failed to test Guzan until after the hour mark.
Jose Fonte's low effort then forced Guzan to nervously kick clear before Dusan Tadic rattled in a free-kick which was well dealt with.
For all of Southampton's play, Villa had the chance to wrap up the win when they broke from a Saints corner, but Andreas Weimann was unable to steer home Agbonlahor's cross.
It was a crucial miss as moments later Southampton finally found a way through.
Bertrand beat his man on the left to pick out Clyne on the edge of the box, and with Agbonlahor slow to react, the full-back drove into the far corner.
Line-ups
Aston Villa
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Guzan
- 21Hutton
- 5OkoreBooked at 72mins
- 6Clark
- 23Cissokho
- 8Cleverley
- 15Westwood
- 24C SánchezSubstituted forBentat 74'minutes
- 28N'ZogbiaSubstituted forRichardsonat 64'minutes
- 11Agbonlahor
- 10Weimann
Substitutes
- 7Bacuna
- 12Cole
- 18Richardson
- 19Bent
- 31Given
- 34Lowton
- 40Grealish
Southampton
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 23Forster
- 2ClyneBooked at 83mins
- 6José Fonte
- 17Alderweireld
- 21Bertrand
- 12WanyamaBooked at 58mins
- 4Schneiderlin
- 11Tadic
- 7LongSubstituted forCorkat 89'minutes
- 10ManéSubstituted forMayukaat 79'minutes
- 19Pellè
Substitutes
- 1Davis
- 3Yoshida
- 5Gardos
- 18Cork
- 24Mayuka
- 28Reed
- 33Targett
- Referee:
- Phil Dowd
- Attendance:
- 25,311
Match Stats
Home TeamAston VillaAway TeamSouthampton
- Possession
- Home36%
- Away64%
- Shots
- Home7
- Away16
- Shots on Target
- Home1
- Away4
- Corners
- Home2
- Away8
- Fouls
- Home15
- Away17
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Aston Villa 1, Southampton 1.
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Foul by Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton).
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Alan Hutton (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
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Ashley Westwood (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Graziano Pellè (Southampton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa).
Substitution
Substitution, Southampton. Jack Cork replaces Shane Long.
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Hand ball by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
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Foul by Graziano Pellè (Southampton).
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Jores Okore (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Emmanuel Mayuka (Southampton).
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Andreas Weimann (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Booking
Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton).
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Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Goal!
Goal! Aston Villa 1, Southampton 1. Nathaniel Clyne (Southampton) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ryan Bertrand with a cross.
Post update
Foul by Morgan Schneiderlin (Southampton).
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Alan Hutton (Aston Villa) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
