Aaron Tshibola’s late header saw Roberto Di Matteo’s men hold the Magpies to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park on Saturday night.
Pierluigi Gollini 7/10 – Kept Villa in the game for the opening 60 minutes with a couple of impressive saves to deny both Dwight Gayle and Jonjo Shelvey. Couldn’t really do anything about the goal either.
James Chester 6/10 – Settled down after the break following a challenging first half, making a team-leading five clearances and blocking two shots over the course of the match.
Tommy Elphick 3/10 – Turned a DeAndre Yedlin cross into his own net just before the half-hour mark before nearly gifting Newcastle a second goal only eight minutes later with a terrible giveaway. Could have got Villa into trouble on several other occasions, too, with some questionable decision-making.
Nathan Baker 6.5/10 – Made a potentially goal-saving challenge on Gayle shortly after the half-hour mark before being sacrificed for Tshibola at the break as Di Matteo changed around the formation. Had been Villa’s best defender up to that point.
Leandro Bacuna 6/10 – Looked much improved in the second half after being moved from central midfield to right-back. With Ritchie De Laet out long-term, the versatile Dutchman seems to be the best option there going forward.
Jordan Amavi 5.5/10 – Provided plenty of pace down the left but really struggled defensively during the first half. Was better after the break, much like the rest of the team, but his final ball was still lacking.
Mile Jedinak 4.5/10 – Proved horrendously off the pace and was guilty of some very sloppy passing. Not a performance he will want to remember.
Ashley Westwood 5/10 – Largely anonymous for the opening 45 minutes and wasn’t nearly positive enough on the ball once Villa managed to get more into the match. Further fuel for the critics.
Albert Adomah 6/10 – Created a great chance for Kodjia with a perfect through ball but offered little else during his 63-minute showing. Didn’t help that he was stuck out of positon at wing-back for the first half.
Jordan Ayew 7/10 – After a subdued first-half performance, the Ghanaian forward burst into life during the final half-hour, hitting the post following a fantastic run before going on to deliver the corner for Aaron Tshibola’s 88th minute equaliser. He almost set up a last-gasp winner for Kodjia, too.
Jonathan Kodjia 7/10 – Couldn’t get on the scoresheet but made a real nuisance of himself with his pace and movement up top.
SUBSTITUTES
Aaron Tshibola (Baker 46) 7.5/10 – Helped change the game for Villa following his half-time introduction with an industrious performance in the centre of the park. Fitting that it was him who popped up to head home the late equaliser.
Rudy Gestede (Adomah 63) 6.5/10 – The physical striker’s size and strength gave Newcastle plenty of problems during the closing stages.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (Westwood 85) 6.5/10 – Only given a brief run-out but looked very lively.
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