Dean Smith left to rue slow Aston Villa start
Dean Smith rued a damaging first-half display after Villa’s relegation fears increased with defeat to fellow strugglers Bournemouth.
Philip Billing and Nathan Ake scored inside seven first-half minutes at the Vitality Stadium to leave the visitors with a mountain to climb, writes Rob Meech.
Cherries midfielder Jefferson Lerma received his marching orders for a second booking just after the interval, before Mbwana Samatta netted on his Premier League debut.
But Villa’s search for an equaliser proved elusive as they slipped to 17th in the table, just one point above the drop zone.
Smith said: “We weren’t good enough in the first half, the players knew that at half-time.
“For me, we didn’t pick up enough second balls. We knew that Bournemouth wanted to start quickly, but when we won the ball, we probably weren’t bright enough on it.”
Smith felt key decisions went against his team and was disappointed not to have been awarded a free-kick in the build-up to Ake’s crucial goal, as well as a second-half penalty.
The Villa boss added: “The second goal shouldn’t have stood. It was a clear push on Ezri Konsa when he was in mid-air and they go up the other end and get a free-kick and score from the second phase.
“We could have had a penalty when Bjorn Engels got punched in the face when he headed the ball over, but I don’t think VAR works for those ones. Anywhere else on the pitch I think that’s a foul.”
One positive for Villa was the performance of Samatta, who became the first Tanzanian to score in the Premier League.
When asked about his new recruit’s display, Smith added: “He’s certainly a goalscorer and that’s one of our first headed goals all season.
“He had 60 minutes on Tuesday against one of the best teams in the league and he’s managed to get 90 minutes in on Saturday, so he’ll get better and better.”
