Chapter 129 - Aston Villa(2)

The first half ended with the score 2-0. In the second half, Southampton and Aston Villa did not make a substitution. The match started immediately. Aston Villa started the second half with a strong attack, early in the second half. In the 49th minute, the Aston Villa midfielder stole the ball from Bennet's feet. He then passes the ball forward. Aston Villa's attacking midfielder received the ball, he then kicked the ball to the left and avoided Simone's chasing.

Then he sent a breakthrough pass forward. The Aston Villa winger had beaten Freddy. Then he sent a cross into the middle of the penalty box. The Aston Villa striker headed in but unfortunately his header was too weak, the ball was easily caught by Dean Smith.

In the 55th minute, Southampton counterattacked Aston Villa. Rudolf won the aerial duel against the Aston Villa midfielder. He then chased the ball and gave it to Benson. After getting the ball, Benson dribbled the ball forward. He then made a one-two pass with Wright-Phillips and broke through the left side of the Aston Villa defense.

Benson provided a cross into the middle. Aston Villa's centre-back headed the ball forward. Simone snatched the ball before the other Aston Villa players got it. He then sent a shoot from outside the penalty box. The ball hit the post hard before being thrown off the field.

In the 61st minute, Bennet received a beautiful pass from Freddy. He shot the ball firmly, but unfortunately the shot was saved by the Aston Villa goalkeeper. Wright-Phillips got the rebound.

He then tricked the goalkeeper with a fake shot and passed it to Kazuki. Kazuki immediately ran towards the ball then kicked it hard. Too bad the ball didn't enter the net. The ball slid to the side of the goalpost.

In the 68th minute, Dean Smith ran forward. He then caught the ball from the feet of the Aston Villa striker. Action by Dean Smith thwarted Aston Villa's chance which almost become a goal. Soon after, Dean Smith threw the ball to the left at Benson. Benson who received the ball immediately received pressure from the Aston Villa players. Benson then provided pass to Simone.

Simone dribbled the ball back. He managed to pull the Aston Villa midfielder forward. Then, Simone turned and gave the ball to Bennett who appeared behind the Aston Villa midfielder. Simone gave Bennet a long pass. Bennett received the ball with his chest then pulled the ball back. After that, he turned and ran while carrying the ball.

Bennet then sent a long pass to the right. Rustan ran fast relying on his speed to surpass Aston Villa's left-back. He then pushed the ball into the penalty box and chased it. Just before the Aston Villa centre-back blocked his path, Rustan changed direction and then sent a flat pass to Kazuki.

Kazuki tried to shoot the ball. Unfortunately his shot was blocked by the body of one of the Aston Villa centre-backs. Southampton failed to extend the score over Aston Vila.

In the 74th minute, Southampton got another chance in the second half. Bennet passed the Aston Villa midfielder in a tricky way. He then gave the ball to Simone, one of the Aston Villa players stepped up and tried to snatch the ball from Simone's feet. The Southampton defensive midfielder managed to escape the attack of Aston Villa players and gave the ball to Rudolf who filled the space.

Rudolf turned around and pushed the ball forward. He then brought the ball a little sideways. One of Aston Villa's centre-backs stepped up to mark Rudolf but at that point Rustan ran into the empty space that the defender had left. Rudolf sent the ball to Rustan.

Southampton right winger from England was dribbling the ball quickly. Another Aston Villa centre-back left Kazuki and ran towards the gap between Rustan and the goalkeeper. At that time Rustan was supposed to pass Kazuki but he chose to take a kick instead. It was clear the Aston Villa centre-back immediately blocked Rustan's shot so the ball bounced off the pitch.

If Southampton was behind or equal to the opponent. Kazuki would probably scold Rustan. But because Southampton was in a superior score, he chose to understand other player's choice.

In the 79th minute, Southampton started the attack with a counter-movement between Simone and Freddy. Simone came down to lure the Aston Villa midfielder forward, while Freddy sprinted forward to exploit the gap left by the midfielder. After that, Freddy received the pass given by Simone. Another Aston Villa player cut off Freddy's running path. Freddy was about to give a pass but he saw that all his teammates were being guarded tightly. Freddy did a forward lob pass while expecting Kazuki to accept the pass.

Even though the ball was hard to reach but Kazuki forced himself to try to get it. He tried to have a physical confrontation against the Aston Villa centre-back. But the referee blew the whistle, a foul was committed by Kazuki when he was about to get the ball. Too bad Southampton's chance to extend the lead failed.

In the 85th minute, Aston Villa launched a counter-attack. After the Aston Villa goalkeeper caught Bennet's kick. He then threw the ball at the centre-back. Aston Villa's centre-back sent the ball to the left-back. Then the left-back dashed swiftly forward. Blocked by Rustan, he chose to pass the ball to the Aston Villa midfielder. Bennet stepped forward, he was trying to take the ball from the midfielder.

Aston Villa's central midfielder managed to keep possession despite Bennet's aggressive attempts to steal the ball. He then provided a pass to the Aston Villa attacking midfielder. Immediately after receiving the pass, the attacking midfielder sent a through ball to the flanks.

The Aston Villa winger was in a superior position to Benson. He then received the ball and dribbled it diagonally into the penalty box. Immediately after, the player provided a cross to the left side. The Aston Villa left winger stopped a pass and launched a cut-back pass to the Aston Villa striker. Aston Villa striker kicked the ball to the right side of the goalpost.

This time Dean Smith failed to parry the Aston Villa striker's shot. Aston Villa managed to score a goal in the final minutes of the game. This sparked the fighting spirit of Aston Villa again. Aston Villa attacked Southampton all-out in the final minutes of the game. However, substitutions and defensive discipline were key to Southampton's success in holding back the onslaught of Aston Villa.

Southampton ended the game with a win. Southampton won 2-1 over Aston Villa. The score 2-1 was the most scored in Southampton matches. This made the media speculate about the score 2-1. Put that aside.. Now Chelsea will face Southampton in the next round.