Martin O’Neill felt Villa deserved a replay after a tight FA Cup clash - even though his side failed to register a shot on target.
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The Villa boss believes United would have accepted an Old Trafford replay as the clock ticked down before the extra cutting edge provided by Wayne Rooney gave the visitors their decisive edge.
O’Neill was confident in the preceding days that his side could cause an upset and still felt the same at half-time.
He said: “It’s obviously very
“We might not have done enough to win the game but I think we did enough not to get beaten. It seemed to be heading towards a replay and I think United might have accepted that too.
“But the first goal was always going to be vital, especially with it coming so late. I don’t know if Sir Alex would agree, but I don’t think there was much between the two sides.
“There were very few chances either end but I can’t fault the boys for their work-rate because their effort was fantastic.
“I can only worry about the record we have against them while I am at the football club, but I thought we were capable of changing the run. But overall, we didn’t put them under enough pressure in front of goal.
“In the build-up, I really felt we could do something and I woke up this morning thinking we could win. At half-time we were in the game and felt we were still capable of winning.
“Their second goal was
immaterial because we were going for it. But we lost the ball on the edge of their penalty box and they broke and scored because we were committed to going forward.
“But overall I’m very disappointed. I wouldn’t have minded going to Old Trafford for a replay and I think we deserved that opportunity. Sadly, the competition bypasses us for another year.”
As for United, it was yet another happy hunting trip to Villa Park even if they had to wait until the last 10 minutes to make their domination count.
They have not been beaten by Villa in over a decade and have now knocked them out of the FA Cup four times in this sequence.
Rooney’s cameo ensured an 11th straight win at Villa Park - that includes FA Cup semi-final successes - for United and a 13th successive victory over Villa.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I have been trying to find a new Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a substitute - although I don’t think Wayne would appreciate that! Wayne changed the game when he came on. He brought us thrust and enthusiasm and direct play. He attacked defenders and made a heck of a difference.
“It is difficult to say why we have such a good record here,” said Ferguson. “It is a traditional, old-fashioned football ground. The fans are right on top of you and there is always a good atmosphere.
“We had 7,500 fans here, who had a real party.
“Every time we come to Aston Villa, they [the fans] are really up for it. They can make a difference, which is the point I made last week. When our fans are like that, we do not let them down.”
3 Comments
Coming from a die hard villa fan we did not deserve a draw we deserved what we got NOTHING - worst performance of the season from Villa
It was not really a bad performance. All United’s players are very comfortable on the ball they attack as a unit moving the ball around in all directions. Villa can never pass the ball backwards to keep possession because our defenders’ lack of technique puts us immediately under pressure.
If you look at the Villa side although we have some decent individuals we are not good enough as team to go into this game expecting to beat United by playing attacking football. Our only chance of going through was to cancel them out and scrap a goal.
Carew was nowhere near fit and so Gabby had no chance on his own against Rio and Vidic
Mellberg is a solid defender but is very limited on the ball for a full back
Bouma is a solid defender but is very limited on the ball for a full back
Petrov would not get in the starting line up of any of the top six sides
yeah i have to agree. villa weren’t grweat. i thought we held them well and o ‘ neil is right, we did match them and it was a tight game. however the score was 2-0 and we didn’t have a shot on target. plus rooney didn’t even start.