Aston Villa 1 Hull City 1

It took Aston Villa just 9 minutes to kick the new season off with a bang when Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the home side the lead against Steve Bruce’s former employers Hull City.

The home side began brightly creating a lot of early chances. Neil Taylor’s long ball picked out Henri Lansbury who brought the ball down on his chest but his shot went just wide of the Hull goal.

Lansbury then turned provider when he played Agbonlahor through but Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor comes out to smother the ball at his feet.

The goal come from a different source though when Ahmed Elmohamady found Alan Hutton on the overlap and his low cross made its way to the back post where Agbonlahor slotted home from six yards out.

A very comfortable first half for Villa and the game should have been put to bed but it seemed to be Deja Vu all over again when we would be talking about missed opportunities.

Hull improved in the second half but Villa always looked a threat when going forward.

Mcgregor once again denied Villa but this time it was from Scott Hogan who made a mazy run through the Hull defence but he couldn’t find the back of the net.

The visitors found the net through Jarrod Bowen when his left footed effort beat Sam Johnstone just after the hour mark.

Andre Green should have given Aston Villa all three points but got his header all wrong from two years out.

Man of the Match

Gabriel Agbonlahor really impressed me with his work rate and never say die attitude and to top it off he got on the scoresheet. If he continues in this form for the remainder of the season he could prove vital in this Villa side.

The Manager

“We’ve created a lot of chances – and some really good opportunities too and at this level, you have to stick them away. It’s a problem that blighted us last season and it has raised its head again today. We relied too heavily on Kodj (Jonathan Kodjia) who we don’t have at the moment.”

Verdict

Although it could prove to be a good point against a side who will no doubt be there or there about’s come to the end of the season it did feel like same old for Aston Villa. Fans left the ground disappointed at not being able to convert all their chances into all three points. Hull was there for the taking in the first half but they would have been happy with a share of the points.

Highlights