As soon as the final whistle had blown at Loughborough I was in the car to drive across to Villa Park for an 8.00 pm kick off.

A very relaxed 10 minute walk from the car park we use to the ground amongst happy Villa fans. They should have been happy, they were guaranteed a minimum 5th place finish and were the only English side in a European Semi-Final.

Many of the fans gathered underneath the part of the Holte End that struts out over the road to welcome the Villa team bus. The acoustics amplified the songs and enhanced the flares as the coach passed and emptied the hero’s into the ground.

The packed ground was rocking to Villa songs and chants as a cold wind whipped through the opening to where we were standing high up in the Holte End. It’s a great atmosphere at Villa for any game but the glare of the lights seem to turn it up a notch.

Aston Villa 2 Chelsea 2

English Premier League, Saturday 27th April 2024, 20.00 pm kick off.

Villa v The Blues, 4th V 9th. Villa; Claret shirts with light blue sleeves and white shorts. Chelsea; All royal Blue kit.

Villa were off to a great start when they took the lead after just 4 minutes when a John McGinn’s miss hit shot deflected off Marc Cucurella into the net. The crowd went mad but became more subdued as they realised that their team was under par for this game. Chelsea’s Nicholas Jackson had a goal disallowed by VAR for offside and he hit the foot of the post with a well placed header.

With the home side riding their luck they went two ahead just on half time when the ever improving Morgan Rogers took the ball to the left of the goal and slotted a class goal between a defenders legs and the keepers outstretched right hand.

It all looked fine but when the ‘World’s number one goal keeper’ doesn’t come out in the second half because of an injury you feel a bit tense. Chelsea put further pressure on Aston Villa from the start of the second half and when the Villa midfield gave away a simple ball Noni Madueke made no mistake putting the ball in the corner of the net. It was all Chelsea and the Villa fans tried to calm their nerves with a repertoire of old songs not used for some time, but Chelsea kept on the pressure.

With 80 minutes gone Connor Gallagher engineered himself some space on the edge of the keepers area and curled the ball into the top corner. The Chelsea fans were now delirious and both sides created chances as the game opened up some more. Ollie Watkins blasted a cut back over the bar almost into the top tier and during added time Disasi headed home for Chelsea. The Villa fans were distraught but also angry that a push in the back of Diego Carlos in the build up had been ignored. Cue the inevitable VAR and the goal was disallowed for the push which drew protests from the ay team. Once play had continued Villa nearly stole it in the final moment when from a corner Carlos headed the ball onto the roof of the net.

At the final whistle the Chelsea team surrounded the referee but the pushing and shoving that ensued was soon broken up. Villa were lucky to gain the one point on a night when they looked second best. Perhaps their astonishing efforts this season are catching up with them, they need to hang on in there and recover their style for the few remaining games and perhaps an amazing end to the season.

There were chips! which were hot, golden, crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle but had a slight seasoning on them which reduced their score to 60.

What a great day, having been lucky enough to see 11 goals and two very intriguing games, I drove home with a smile.

If you would have read the previous blogs regarding Aston Villa you will remember that I haven’t seen them win for some time hence the caption. This time I didn’t wear my vintage beanie hat or any other Villa item and they managed a draw, perhaps I will see a win next time.