MX23RW : Tuesday, March 11 05:42:51| >> :120:64317:64317:
[monks data]
Attendance: 40,996
Aston Villa logo
Premier League | Gameweek 2
Aug 17, 2019 at 3pm UK
 
Bournemouth logo

1-2

Luiz (71')
FT(HT: 0-2)
King (2' pen.), Wilson (12')

Dean Smith hits out at referee following Aston Villa defeat

Dean Smith hits out at referee following Aston Villa defeat
© Reuters
Midfielder was taken off at half-time.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith said Philip Billing should have been sent off during the 2-1 home loss to Bournemouth.

Cherries midfielder Billing collected the first booking of the contest in the 36th minute for a foul on John McGinn, and made a number of subsequent challenges that might have seen him carded again before being substituted by Eddie Howe at half-time.

Smith, whose side went in at the break 2-0 down after conceding twice in the opening 12 minutes, said: “I think they (Bournemouth) have had a massive amount of fortune with Phil Billing staying on the pitch.

“He’s got booked and then he’s made a poor foul on Jack Grealish which wasn’t given, and then he’s made two more poor fouls after.

“He should have been sent off, there’s no doubt about that. I don’t think Martin (Atkinson, the referee) probably had his best game today.”

When Howe was asked if he had taken Billing off because he feared he would be red-carded, the Bournemouth manager said: “I just felt he couldn’t play his natural game. I felt he was one foul away from probably getting red-carded. So to protect the team, I felt it was a decision I had to make.”

Howe added: “I think it was a whole-hearted game. I think there were tackles flying in left, right and centre.

“I think he has probably harshly got the first yellow in my opinion, because I think he has got the ball, but then you could argue, you could look at it the other way and say once he had that yellow card he was maybe slightly fortunate to stay on the pitch.

“Referees have a hard job, he has made his call. But I felt I had to protect the team.”

Playing their first home Premier League game since May 2016, promoted Villa fell behind in the second minute through Josh King’s penalty, awarded after Tom Heaton brought down Callum Wilson.

Ten minutes later Douglas Luiz allowed a pass to run through his legs, Bournemouth debutant Harry Wilson claimed the loose ball and the on-loan Liverpool winger scored via a deflection off Tyrone Mings.

Villa reduced the deficit through a fine Luiz strike in the 71st minute but could not avoid another defeat, a week on from opening their top-flight return by losing 3-1 at Tottenham.

Smith said: “First minute and we give a probably needless penalty away. The lad’s going nowhere and Tom comes out in an area he probably never would do normally. Then we make a mistake with a square pass in midfield, Dougie lets it go and the lad lets fly from 30 yards and it deflects in.

“So that is a very hard place to start, but I thought we grew into the game after that, reset ourselves really well. We got on the front foot and we’ve had chances. But I probably don’t think our quality was there at times, certainly in the final third.

“Mistakes happen in every game. They’ve had a bit of fortune obviously with the second goal, with it deflecting off Tyrone.”

ID:368436: cacheID:368436:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4494:
Written by
P A
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal281510352242855
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest28156745331251
4Chelsea28147753361749
5Manchester CityMan City28145953381547
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton28121064640646
8Aston Villa2912984145-445
9Bournemouth28128847341344
10Fulham2811984138342
11Crystal Palace2810993633339
12Brentford28115124844438
13Tottenham HotspurSpurs281041455411434
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd2897123440-634
15Everton2871293135-433
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2896133248-1633
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2865173857-1923
18Ipswich TownIpswich2838172658-3217
19Leicester CityLeicester2845192562-3717
20Southampton2823232068-489


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!