Tottenham 0 Aston Villa 1
Aston Villa Benteke 35'
Red card Carlos Sanchez (Aston Villa)
Man of the match Christian Benteke (Aston Villa)
LONDON // As the injury time drifted on and the ball went out of pay for a throw-in, Tim Sherwood bellowed at the referee Lee Probert demanding to know how long there was left.
Probert made a slashing gesture across his throat and raised his whistle to his lips, ready to blow as soon as the ball came back into play. Sherwood punched the air, yelled, “Come on!” then raised two fists in salute to the Aston Villa fans.
This was about three points that took Villa to 15th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone, but it was also about Sherwood making a point to the directors who disposed of him 333 days ago.
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Sherwood had spoken this week of the hurt of hearing other managers – Louis van Gaal and Frank De Boer – taking opening about being offered his job when he still had more than a year left on an 18-month contract, but after the win he was conciliatory.
“I’ve a lot of respect for [Tottenham Hotspur chairman] Daniel Levy,” he said. “This club’s been very good to me.”
Sherwood, though, also acknowledged that this was his most satisfying of his three league wins as Villa manager, before clarifying that it was “because it’s such an important stage of the season and no one gave us a chance. The desire and heart and spirit has never been questioned – it was just a little bit of guidance and quality in pressure-cooker situations, and I think we found that today.”
Spurs were so poor that, whatever doubts there were, it was a simple win. Christian Benteke headed the only goal 10 minutes before the break, his eighth in his last six games, and Gabriel Agbonlahor, running on to a Benteke flick, hit the post in the final minute of the half. Spurs had second-half possession but did not trouble Brad Guzan.
Threatening as Villa were on the break – with the front two of Benteke and Agbonlahor quick, powerful and intelligent in their movement – it must also be acknowledged that Tottenham were desperately poor.
The sluggishness that had infected their play at Burnley last week was in evidence again, and there is a real danger of their season petering out.
With Southampton winning, Spurs slipped to seventh and, if Villa beat Liverpool in their FA Cup semi-final next week, there is a real danger they will fail to qualify for the Europa League. With Uefa Champions League qualification now beyond them, their appetite seems to have deserted them.
“We put ourselves in difficulty,” manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “We couldn’t manage the ball properly. The goal they scored was our mistake.”
It was a victory that came at a cost, though. Carlos Sanchez, who had a fine game at the back of midfield for Villa, was sent off late on for a second yellow and will miss the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.
Agbonlahor and Ciaran Clark are also major doubts after going off with a tweaked hamstring and a knee injury respectively.
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