Aston Villa met Wigan on Tuesday in the EFL Cup second round, badly needing something to build upon. They got just that and a little more from the showdown after winning 4-1 at home to advance to the third round. Here are three thoughts from the action:
Hogan eats his vitamins and say his prayers
After missing out the last couple of weeks or so, Scott Hogan returned for the Villans and provided quite the boost for them up front. He had two early chances to score that were repelled.
The first, in which he showed a turn of pace and great foot work turned out to be nothing but alarm for the Latics, but his second- a header that went off the bar- did end up testing them, nearly.
Finally, he scored a poacher’s goal for his first, sliding in a cross on the ground to make it 1-0. His second was an exquisite volleyed finish on the turn that the opposition goalkeeper just couldn’t get a hold of. This is the Hogan that Villa need, and he must continue to play like this to see his side have a chance of promotion.
Adomah scores a beauty, stakes his claim
Despite Hogan’s second goal being a great goal, it will have to go down as only the second-best individual effort in the match due to his teammate’s brilliance. Albert Adomah’s goal for Villa’s second of the night came from a hopeful cross from the left wing.
The winger came inside the box and hammered a left foot volley into the upper 90 of the goalkeeper, leaving him absolutely zero chance of saving it. Adomah’s goal shows just what he can do, and it will give Bruce something to think about when selecting his side in the future.
De Laet too late… again
Villa’s defending has been shambolic at times, and on this night that largely went away against their League One opponents. However, Ritchie de Laet, who will be tiring of seeing his name here no doubt, once again made a fairly foolish error to allow Wigan their only goal of the match.
The versatile defender violated the cardinal rule of defending by ‘stabbing his toe’ for the ball, leaving him off balance and allowing his man to skate by and finish. It might not be a big deal in this match, but his errors are starting to add up and could eventually cost him a spot in the side.
