Aston Villa lost 2-0 to Newcastle United on Monday evening.
Aston Villa Manager Steve Bruce
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has told the club’s official website that he was pleased with the performances of Mile Jedinak and Neil Taylor against Newcastle United.
Villa travelled up to Tyneside on Monday evening to take on Rafael Benitez’s Magpies, and made the trip to St. James’ Park in desperate need of points.
Bruce’s men had claimed just one point in 2017, and headed into the game having lost six of their seven games since the turn of the year, with Villa much closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs.
Defeating promotion-chasing Newcastle was always going to be difficult for Villa, and they ultimately succumbed to another defeat as Yoan Gouffran opened the scoring before Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury scored an own goal to seal a 2-0 win for the hosts.
The result keeps Villa just six points clear of the relegation zone, with Bruce now looking nervously over his shoulder as the season enters its final stages.
Villa did have a couple of bright spots though, as left back Neil Taylor made his return from injury to make his second start for Villa since joining from Swansea City on deadline day, whilst midfielder Mile Jedinak played for the first time since the 14th of January.
Newcastle United’s Yoan Gouffran celebrates after scoring their first goal
After the final whistle, manager Bruce told the club’s official website that he felt Villa have missed Jedinak, and he’s pleased to see the 32-year-old return given that he offers protection for the Villa defence.
Bruce added that he felt Taylor was ‘very, very decent’ against Newcastle, and was just as pleased to see him return from injury.
“He gives our defenders protection – and he’s a man in there,” said Bruce. “We have missed that, especially away from home. It’s the way we played when we went on our run when I first arrived. It was good to see Mile back.”
“I thought Tayls had a very, very decent game. It was good to see him back in the team,” he added.
What did you think of Taylor and Jedinak’s performances against Newcastle?
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