Barrow AFC 0 – 6 Aston Villa
Aston Villa’s first-ever game at Barrow saw Dean Smith make wholesale changes to the team which beat Newcastle at the weekend. The team included a host of youth players, plus a smattering of experience, especially at the back. Conor Hourihane also made an appearance as captain for the night.
First Half
The Villains started brightly, Philogene-Bidace looking a bit of a handful from the start. Hourihane was obviously the quality midfielder out the pinging passes around the field. Sure enough, a quality ball from Hourihane found El Ghazi on the left-hand side who played a low pass across the box for Archer to slot in.
Fourteen minutes later, Villa were awarded a penalty after Philogene-Bidace was brought down in the penalty area. Anwar El Ghazi stepped up and played a very cheeky little chip down the centre of the goal, the keeper moving to his right.
Right on half time, Villa killed the game off with another flowing move. This time Freddie Guilbert was found running down the right-wing and produced a peach of a cross for El Ghazi to slot home. Half Time: Barrow 0 – 3 Villa.
Embed from Getty ImagesSecond Half
With the game pretty much over, Villa kept the ball well with some nice movement. In the 62nd minute, Cameron Archer latched on to a nice through ball from El Ghazi and showed some class with an exquisite chip over the keeper to score Villa’s fourth and his second goal.
The 73rd minute saw Caleb Chukwuemeka make his senior Villa debut, replacing his brother Carney.
Freddie Guilbert also got in on the act in the 75th minute with a left-footed drive into the goal. This was to be his last contribution to the game as he was replaced in the 82nd minute by Hayden Lindley.
Archer finally got his hat trick in the 88th minute after some fine work from Philogene-Bidace who pulled the ball back for him to slot in. On another night, Philogene-Bidace could have had himself a few goals had he got his shooting boots on…
Thoughts
Connor Hourihane showed his ability tonight with a masterclass in passing. Freddie Guilbert is a decent right-back who produced a decent display with a fine cross and a goal to boot. But I don’t think Dean Smith rates him and he could be sent out on loan yet again.
Cameron Archer looks like a decent player, his second goal was pure class. Admittedly the opposition was not premier league quality, but you can only play those in front of you. Philogene-Bidace and Carney Chukwuemeka were also in pretty good form and did not look out of place in the Villa line-up.
Teams
Barrow: Farman, Brown
, Ellis (Arthur 70), Grayson, Hutton, White (Williams 65), Taylor, Banks, Brough , Gordon (Kay 60), Zanzala
Subs: Lillis, Ntlhe, Jones, Moloney
Villa: Steer, Guilbert
(Lindley 82), Tuanzebe, Hause, Targett, Philogene-Bidace, Hourihane, Carney Chukwuemeka (Caleb Chukwuemeka 73), Nakamba , El Ghazi (A Ramsey 63), Archer
Subs: J Ramsey, Bogarde, Sinisalo, Swinkels