A Last-Minute Own Goal Gives Aston Villa a Chance in the Title Race

Aston Villa vs. Brighton & Hove Albion kicked off on 11th February at 2:30 p.m. EST. This fixture is important for both teams. If Aston Villa win, they can close the point gap between them and the Premier League table leaders, Arsenal, to six points rather than eight. The team record for Villa in the Premier League is 14-6-6. If Brighton wins, it can break their winless form, and it might reignite confidence in their German manager, Fabian Hürzeler. Winning this match could catapult Brighton into 12th place, cementing their status as a middle-table team or providing a better safety net against the bottom five. This match defied expectations not because it was high scoring, but because only a single goal was scored. Aston Villa vs. Brighton is usually a high-scoring match, as Villa have scored 27 goals against Brighton, while Brighton have claimed only 13 against their bogey team. This matchup ultimately ended in a 1-0 victory for Villa due to an own goal from Jack Hinshelwood. 

First Half: Interrupted Play and Risky Back Passes 

Brighton kicked off the match as they passed the first kick straight back to their goalie. A routine opening for Brighton as they prefer to play out the back and have their goalie, Bart Verbruggen, feed long passes to the left or right winger. Throughout the first half, both teams played it riskily when passing along their defensive line in their own half. Emiliano Martínez was almost called out in the first 20 minutes as he attempted a long pass, but Welbeck loomed in the vicinity and got a foot on it. However, nothing came of this attempt to steal the ball in a dangerous position. Aston Villa continually sent the ball back to their defensive line, where they had near misses with Brighton players who almost succeeded in stealing the ball in a goal-scoring spot. These mistakes and near-misses do not just come from Aston Villa. Brighton were caught in some dangerous positions deep in their own half a couple of times, as they also produced many passes that a Villa player could have swept up. Both teams heavily favored their left sides of the pitch to move the ball down towards their opponents. Brighton has the versatile Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma on the left, and Aston Villa has Morgan Rogers. 

Ollie Watkins, Jadon Sancho, and Rogers proved to be a formidable trio of strikers in the first half. Working together, the trio were able to drag the ball down towards Brighton's end many times throughout the first half. Their attacking momentum challenged Brighton's defensive line but did not break it. However, the tempo of this match was not consistent. The match had many stops and starts that prevented either team from getting into a flow. The players not only attempted to slow down the opposing team's momentum, but there were also many stoppages due to yellow cards, play pulled back for free kicks and fouls, and injuries. Carlos Baleba received the first yellow card for Brighton within the first two minutes of the match. This prompted an early substitution for him, with James Milner coming on as his replacement. Milner's appearance equalled the Premier League record for appearances, held by Gareth Barry, who has 653. The contention finally boiled over when Jan Paul van Hecke attempted to stop Martínez from quickly releasing the ball back into play for an Aston Villa counterattack. This led van Hecke and Martínez to go forehead-to-forehead, and to fellow players having to break up the fight. Both of the players got yellow cards, and Danny Welbeck finished out the first half with a shot on goal that Martínez easily blocked. 

Second Half: Breaking the 0-0 Deadlock and Misery for Brighton 

Brighton had better momentum than in the first half. Villa had to focus more on defense, as Brighton took five more shots in the second half than in the first. It looked as if Brighton were to break the draw and score a goal in the 55th minute. Ferdi Kadioglu attempted a shot on goal from distance, but his shot was lifted slightly by Martínez's finger to bounce off the crossbar. Even if Kadioglu's shot were a few inches down, Martínez would have still saved it as his entire hand obscured the goal. The second half of this match was more energized, as each team knew they had to score to win. 

This match defied expectations, with only one goal scored. Brighton's defense was much better in this match compared to their previous derby against Crystal Palace. Aston Villa did not register a single shot on target the entire match. The only reason they have a goal is that Jack Hinshelwood scored an own goal late in the match. Looking at the numbers, Brighton was the better team with five shots on target compared to no shots on target for Villa. The possession percentages for the two teams were dead even at 50% each. Villa did have slightly more corners awarded to them throughout the match, which gave them a slight edge. Since the goal ultimately came from a corner, those two extra Aston Villa goals earned were crucial to the match, as it seemed like it was going to be a draw. 

Aston Villa's victory over Brighton at their home stadium solidified their position, closing the gap to six points on table leaders Arsenal. The 1-0 victory is devastating for Brighton as they now have only one win in thirteen Premier League matches. Aston Villa squeaked out the win under pressure on the Brighton defense. Villa commanded the tempo of the match near the end, using their two substitutions, Tammy Abraham and Alysson Edward. Brighton kicked up their energy levels in the last ten minutes in desperation to equalize. In the end, Aston Villa kept a clean sheet thanks to Martínez's strong performance. He should be considered a key player for this match as he stopped Brighton's five shots on target from going in. Villa's victory firmly tells other Premier League teams that they are challenging for the trophy.