Garth Crooks criticised the Frederic Guilbert’s attempt to stop Southampton opening the scoring.
BBC pundit Garth Crooks has criticised the attempts of Frederic Guilbert to stop Southampton opening the scoring against Aston Villa during Saturday’s 2-0 win at St Mary’s.
Crooks was not impressed with the defender trying to pull back Moussa Djenepo in the build up to Shane Long’s opening goal as Villa slipped to defeat.
He said: “The Southampton player laid on the goal for striker Shane Long amid appalling defending by Aston Villa. He then spins Frederic Guilbert on the halfway line, so the Frenchman is left embarrassingly trying to grab the Malian’s shirt.
“The only thing Djenepo didn’t do was score the goal his performance richly deserved during the 2-0 win.”
Perhaps Villa’s players had one eye on the EFL Cup final next weekend and played within themselves slightly in order to preserve themselves from injury.
But losing a winnable match without having a shot on target is not acceptable when Villa find themselves mired in relegation trouble.
Combine that with their backline chasing shadows at times and Pepe Reina putting in a less than solid performance between the sticks and it was always going to be a long afternoon.
Perhaps the trip to Wembley on Sunday can give the club a lift – winning the first silverware of the season would certainly do that – and they need one after a dismal display on Saturday.
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