Villa and Benteke leave it late

Article by Luke Heyes

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In only their second ever meeting in the FA Cup, it was a largely uneventful encounter that only really came to life in the last five minutes. For all of Villa’s possession, again it was the familiar story of lacking that quality in the final third. There were not many shots on target and avoiding another FA Cup embarrassment was Paul Lamberts ultimate priority. Prior to the match, there were warnings from both Lambert and Ciaran Clarke that Villa needed to win and diminish their ‘soft touch’ label after poor results in recent cup ties. As important was to give the fans a goal or two to avoid another festive nil nil daw on home turf and provide some well-needed entertainment. It looked like Villa and Lambert were heading for a possible icy mid-week replay at Bloomfield Road until their talisman, Christian Benteke, produced a moment of magic on 89 minutes, controlling the ball on his chest from a Carlos Sanchez pass and rifling a fine shot passed the astounded Blackpool keeper Joe Lewis to claim his first FA Cup goal.

With the introduction of a few fringe players into the starting eleven, notably the young Jack Grealish, there was a level of excitement around Villa Park as fans were hoping that a shake-up of the team might provide the antidote to a more creative display. The first half saw Villa dictate possession with some good forward running from the consistent Cissokho and Hutton. Joe Cole, who was handed a rare start, was the brightest spark for Villa, showing class decision making and ease on the ball. Despite some good passing and interplay though, the only real chance of the half started from some good defensive work by Hutton and Cleverley who fed the ball to Grealish on the wing who in turn found Benteke to only hit the side netting. Blackpool had a few shots on target but Given, who has not started since August 2012, proved that he is still the master pro, making two important saves. This was to be it in the first half and as was expected, there were boos ringing from the depths of the not so full Holte End at halftime.

The second half saw Villa again dominate possession and Christian Benteke started to show signs that he was thirsty for a goal, coming close with a header and a sublime half volley which was saved by the keeper. Blackpool didn’t have many clear-cut chances however there was a tense moment for Villa fans when Miller unleashed a thunderbolt of an effort which was equally matched by Given once again. As the match reached its final quarter, the cries and moans of the Holte End were in full swing and the reply at Bloomfield Road was looking ever more inevitable. Benteke though, once again, was Villa’s saviour. Carlos Sanchez fed the ball to the big Belgian at the edge of the box who still had all the hard work to do, before he chested the ball expertly and fired the ball into the net from eighteen yards. There was time for one more Blackpool attack as Jamie O Hara nearly provided the sting in the tail fizzing a shot just wide on 91 minutes.

The result was a colossal relief for Paul Lambert as Villa avoided another successive goalless draw at Villa Park and now move into the fourth round of the FA Cup.

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