| Aston Villa 1 v 1 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Saturday, 15th February 2025 Kick-off 15:00 |  |
Aston Villa 1-1 Ipswich Town - Match Report Saturday, 15th Feb 2025 17:12 Ten-man Town battled to a superb 1-1 draw away at Aston Villa to climb to 18th in the Premier League table. The Blues were reduced in number five minutes before half-time when Axel Tuanzebe was dismissed for a second bookable offence against one of his old clubs. However, 11 minutes after the restart, Liam Delap gave Town the lead, but Ollie Watkins equalised on 69 with the Blues backline and Alex Palmer, outstanding on his Premier League debut, holding on for a vital point. Palmer was handed his Premier League debut in goal but skipper Sam Morsy and Leif Davis missed out with minor injuries, the Egyptian international having picked up his problem early in the week and the full-back in training on Friday. Kieran McKenna made four changes from the team which lost 2-1 at home Southampton a fortnight ago with Palmer in goal and Aro Muric dropping to the bench. Conor Townsend made his first league start for the Blues in place of Davis at wing-back with Ben Johnson on the right. Dara O’Shea captained at the heart of the defence. In central midfield, Jens Cajuste was partnered by Kalvin Phillips with Omari Hutchinson and Julio Enciso behind lone central striker Liam Delap. For Villa, Watkins returned up front following a groin injury and Axel Disasi made his debut at the back following his move from Chelsea, but Leon Bailey and Ezri Konsa dropped out. Recent signings Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio were on the bench, as was former Blues defender Tyrone Mings after a knee problem, and two keepers, with Villa naming only eight subs. Within seconds of the start, Boubacar Kamara scuffed a clearance from the left of his box at more than a 90 degree angle towards his own goal, Emiliano Martinez making a comfortable save with Town players appealing rather hopefully for a back-pass. Within seconds, the appeals were at the other end, several-time Blues loan target Morgan Rogers chasing a ball down the left, beating Jacob Greaves and then going to ground as he went past Palmer, who pulled out of making any challenge having perhaps advanced prematurely. Referee Robert Jones showed no interest, despite Villa protests, and VAR agreed with his assessment. The early stages had been mainly Villa without any further concerns but with the Blues by no means pinned in their half. On seven, Enciso brought the ball over halfway and fed Hutchinson, who initially lost the ball but was able to get back on it and find Delap, who shot over, but with the flag having been raised. A minute later, Watkins threatened for the first time, the England international’s cross from the left having been blocked by O’Shea and then his shot from the rebound was similarly stopped by Cajuste. On 13, Enciso unleashed a well-hit effort from distance but too close to Martinez, who was untroubled. Two minutes later, Donyell Malen was found in space to the right by Rogers but Townsend got across to block his shot. The home side were forced into a change in the 16th minute, former Blue Mings taking over from Kamara, who had picked up a knock. Ensico was undergoing treatment while that change was made having also suffered a problem and the Paraguayan eventually made way clearly in pain, Jack Clarke taking over. In the 25th minute, from the second of two free-kicks in dangerous areas, O’Shea having been fouled as the first was floated in, Phillips curled an effort straight at Martinez. Three minutes later, three-time Villa loanee Tuanzebe was harshly shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul when he he clearly won the ball. That followed a good spell of Town play in the Villa half which ended when Mings appeared to foul Johnson but referee Jones seeing it as a fair challenge. On 32, Town deftly played their way out from the back on the left, Townsend threading in Delap behind Andres Garcia. The Blues’ top scorer cut in but was off balance when he hit his shot which struck a defender. Two minutes later, Watkins should have given the home side the lead. Disasi played a straight long ball from the back in behind O’Shea, putting the England striker through. But, as Palmer advanced, the striker put the ball across the keeper left-footed and past the post. It was a fortunate escape for the Blues. In the 40th minute Town’s task was made considerably tougher when they were reduced to 10 men. Jacob Ramsey burst towards the edge of the area and was pulled back by Tuanzebe, who was immediately shown a second yellow card and then a red by referee Jones. While the second card looked the correct decision, Tuanzebe can rightly feel the first was harsh. Nevertheless, having been booked earlier on, the challenge which led to the second was very rash. Villa skipper John McGinn took the free-kick but it slammed against Townsend, one of a number of Blues players running out of the wall. Within a minute, Ramsey played in Watkins on the left of the area, the former Brentford man cutting back to Rogers, whose turn towards goal was somehow tipped over by Palmer, who had done superbly to get back to his feet having initially been in position to cover the cross. The Blues were under the cosh with Villa camped in their final third since the red card. Town saw out four minutes of time added on despite the home side penning them inside their own area. Until the red card, Blues manager McKenna would have been happy with how the half had progressed. Despite Villa having most of the ball, Town had prevented any serious chances, while having had a spell on top and having created a couple of opportunities at the other end. The red card saw the game turn into an attack versus defence training exercise with the Blues managing to hold firm under heavy pressure with Palmer making an outstanding save. The Blues swapped the unlucky Clarke for another defender, Luke Woolfenden, at the break as they looked to shore things up ahead of the expected Villa onslaught. Villa made a double change, bringing on Rashford and Ian Maatsen for Ramsey and Digne. Rashford struck the first shot of the second half, curling one across Palmer from the left of the box but the keeper was able to push away from goal. Moments later, after Townsend and Greaves had both gifted possession, Maatsen curled over. On 53, Town won a corner following a rare attack but the flag-kick came to nothing and Villa broke, Rogers shooting wide at the near post from a Rashford cross from the left. Greaves was subsequently booked for a late tackle on Garcia earlier in the move. Three minutes later, the Blues went in front. Hutchinson tricked his way past Maatsen on the right and crossed. Delap burst in front of Disasi, who collided with the retreating McGinn, and brilliantly turned his 10th goal of the season back across Martinez and into the net to send the Town support over to his right wild. Stung by Town’s goal, Villa went looking for an equaliser, Palmer getting over to his top right corner to tip a Maatsen shot from distance over and wide. Moments later, the keeper handed away a looping deep cross from the right but Mings was unable to make anything of it and the former West Brom man claimed. The home side introduced Asensio, who was signed on loan from PSG last month, for another of their January additions, Dutch international Malen, in the 63rd minute. Two minutes later, Rashford claimed a penalty after he threw himself to the ground as a cross came over from the right but referee Jones showed no interest and video replays suggested there had been little contact with Johnson. In the 68th minute, Phillips was yellow-carded for a foul on Rashford 25 yards out. And from the free-kick, the home side levelled. Rashford’s curling strike hit the angle of post and bar, but Watkins was on hand to slam home the rebound from close range having stayed onside. The goal led to the Villa support raising the volume having been quiet at 1-0. On 71, Palmer was forced into another excellent save pushing Rogers’s header from Asensio’s cross past his left post. Three minutes later, Villa worked the ball in from the left, Maatsen played inside to Youri Tielemans, who moved it on to Asensio, but the Spanish international shot over. Blues keeper Palmer went to ground before play restarted, apparently due to cramp, but was able to continue. On 78, Asensio, who had been Villa’s main threat since coming on, hit a low drive from just outside the area which Palmer tipped past his right post. As the game moved into its final 10 minutes, Town swapped the again excellent Delap, who has scored three of his 10 Premier League goals against Villa, and Cajuste, who put in his now familiar solid midfield display, for George Hirst and Massimo Luongo. Moments later, Asensio’s latest effort at goal flicked off the back of O’Shea with the ball otherwise curling toward the far corner of the net, then moments later Phillips blocked from Rashford. The on-loan Manchester United man had a decent opportunity soon afterwards, a cross from the right finding him in space at the back of the box but his effort lacked conviction and flew high and wide of Palmer’s goal. Balls continued to loop into and flash across the Town box but with a Blues defender usually managing to get their body in the way. The announcement of four additional minutes was greeted by a disappointed groan from the home support, who quickly got back behind their side as they prepared to take a corner. Following the flag-kick, Asensio’s shot was blocked by a Town hand according to Villa but not the referee or VAR, then Woolfenden stopped Rogers’s subsequent effort. Rashford then put a shot wide. Within seconds, the England man burst down the left, crossed for Rogers at the near post, the ball hitting Luongo, then the former Manchester City man before Palmer with remarkable speed of thought flicked it back behind him and wide. After Hutchinson had been booked having refused to go off on the far side as he was replaced by Jack Taylor, the Blues support called for the referee to blow his whistle as the four minutes passed and eventually they erupted into a huge cheer as Mr Jones confirmed a big, big point for Town, won via a superb defensive display against a Villa side which threw the kitchen sink at them in the second half. Down to 10 men from the 40th minute, the Blues knew it was going to be a backs to the wall effort after the break and so it proved. Delap’s excellently taken goal gave them something to hang onto and hang onto it they did with only Watkins’s sharp rebound from Rashford’s superb free-kick preventing them from taking all three points. The defence to a man was superb, heading away crosses and blocking shots, while keeper Palmer had a Premier League debut to remember making several outstanding saves, not least the one right at the end, against a top-class attack putting them under virtually constant pressure for the final 50 minutes. A crucial point for the Blues, who had lost four on the trot in the Premier League before today, and one which moves them ahead of Leicester into 18th place with Wolves two points ahead of them in action tomorrow at Liverpool. Tottenham Hotspur visit Portman Road next Saturday with the Blues given a big injection of belief and confidence following today’s game and last week’s 4-1 FA Cup win at Coventry. Aston Villa: Martinez, Garcia, Kamara (Mings 16), Disasi, Digne (Maatsen 46), McGinn (c), Tielemans, Malen (Asensio 63), Ramsey (Rashford 46), Rogers, Watkins. Subs: Olsen, Zych, Bogarde, Jimoh-Aloba. Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe, O’Shea (c), Greaves, Townsend, Phillips, Cajuste (Luongo 80), Johnson, Hutchinson (Taylor 95), Enciso (Clarke 18 (Woolfenden 46)), Delap (Hirst 80). Unused: Muric, Godfrey, Philogene, Broadhead. Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside). VAR: Michael Oliver.
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