The major winners and losers as Aston Villa beat Hull City 3-1

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Aston Villa got their Championship campaign off to the best start with a 3-1 win over Hull City on Monday night.

Evandro opened the scoring for Hull after just seven minutes with a looping effort from outside the area, but their lead would last just five minutes as Tommy Elphick equalised from a corner.

Ahmed Elmohamady put Villa ahead with 20 minutes remaining before Alan Hutton wrapped up the scoring for the play-off runners-up to move them second in the Championship.

Here are the major winners and losers from the match.

Winner: Jack Grealish

Over the summer, Jack Grealish’s future at Villa had been in much doubt amid reports linking him with a move to Tottenham Hotspur. But he was in Steve Bruce’s team to face Hull and quickly reminded fans why he is so sought-after.

With Villa behind early on, the 22-year-old whipped an inch-perfect corner into the box, to find Elphick unmarked and draw his side level without truly looking likely to score.

From then on his influence grew on the match, with most of Villa’s play going through the midfielder, playing in a slightly more advanced position almost behind the striker.

Grealish completed 95% of his passes on Monday night and set up Elphick’s goal with his only created chance of the match.

His substitution on 83 minutes was met with a standing ovation from Villa fans, in what could have been a realisation that this would be his final game in the claret and blue of the club.

Loser: Nigel Adkins

Going into the season, not many people harboured hopes for Hull City with the Tigers backed to be in for a tough fight in the lower half of the table.

Against Aston Villa, who were agonisingly close to being in the Premier League this season, Nigel Adkins side held their own in the first half and were unlucky not to go in ahead.

But, as is the case with one of the toughest leagues in the world, the Tigers were punished for not taking their chances midway through the second-half as Elmohamady scored against his former side. And that started the downfall for Hull as Hutton grabbed a third for Villa, condemning Hull to a losing start.

Though the Championship is 46 games long and another 45 remain for Hull to get things right, the manner of the Tigers’ loss could be demeaning and show the problems Adkins has ahead of him.

Winner: Jed Steer

Had things gone Aston Villa’s way in the transfer window this summer, Sam Johnstone would have been lining up in goal for the club against Hull City on Monday.

The goalkeeper had spent the past 18 months on loan at Villa Park and missed just one Championship game last season en route to the play-off final, being rested on the last day of the regular season. But for various reasons they were unable to make his loan move permanent in the summer.

As a result, Jed Steer started in goal and, just seven minutes in, had Villa fans covering their eyes as he failed to connect with his attempted punch and was subsequently lobbed by Evandro for the opening goal.

But, the goalkeeper kept his head up and commanded his box well from the mistake, keeping Hull out whenever they attacked and not looking fazed by the dangerous set-pieces.

Loser: Jonathan Kodjia

Things just haven’t worked out for Jonathan Kodjia over the past year, with serious injury problems hampering his time with Aston Villa.

The striker had also gone 10 games without a goal in the lead up to Monday night, but could only stretch his run to 11 with a unfortunate performance against Hull City.

Nothing really worked out for Kodjia as he was either in the wrong position or could not get his first touch right, despite all the efforts of Grealish, Albert Adomah and Ahmed Elmohamady.

Kodjia had just 22 touches of the ball during his time on the pitch, the fewest of all the players who started the match. The striker also managed just two shots on goal, both coming in the first half, and only one hitting the target.

Winner: Jarrod Bowen

While many neutral eyes on the match will have been on Grealish ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday, Hull City’s Jarrod Bowen used the spotlight to show glimpses of his ability.

A name to have gone slightly under the radar this summer, Bowen had been linked with a move to Everton but Hull have so far held firm on the 21-year-old.

His breakthrough campaign last season brought 15 goals, finishing as Hull’s top scorer and though he did not open his account for the new year against Aston Villa, he worked very hard to ensure his side were always a threat.

Playing on the right of a four-man midfield, Bowen gave Neil Taylor a tough game all night, but was still also averse to cutting inside to cause trouble on the rest of the Villa defence.

But it was ultimately not to be for the 21-year-old, who could still find himself subject to interest before the transfer window closes on Thursday.

Loser: David Marshall

For the opening 69 minutes of the game, Hull City held their own against last season’s Championship play-off runners-up and had both sides continued to cancel each other out a draw would have been a fair result.

However, in the 70th minute David Marshall tried too much to push his side out quickly from a goal kick but his pass fell straight to a Villa man midway through the Hull half. Elmohamady would then pick up the ball and drive home into the bottom left corner.

Had Marshall practiced a little more patience in taking the goal kick, to allow his teammates to get back into shape, Hull would not have gone behind in the way they did. They would not have had to then push Aston Villa and as a result, Hutton would not have been allowed to run into the box for Villa’s third.

The post The major winners and losers as Aston Villa beat Hull City 3-1 appeared first on Squawka News.



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