Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has issued his verdict on 3-0 defeat to Leeds United. Villa skipper Grealish, who has played every minute of Villa’s season so far, has posted a message to fans on social media website Twitter this afternoon.
Jack Grealish wrote “
Second half wasn’t good enough to a man… Still a great start to the season for us.”
Second half wasn’t good enough to a man… Still a great start to the season for us.”Up until Leeds scored their first goal, the game was a fairly even one and an enjoyable watch for a neutral. Dean Smith acknowledged post-match that his side didn’t react as well as they should have done
Dean Smith said “I told the players I was disappointed with our reaction to their first goal because I thought it was an even game. We had a moment in the game we didn’t take and, after that first goal, our reactions weren’t as good as they should be. They gained a yard in pace and we lost a yard in pace. If you do that you’re going to concede goals. You have to give credit to Leeds, they were excellent, their one-touch passing in the second-half and their running. They comfortably beat us in the second half. I also said to the players that I’ve only been disappointed with 40 minutes this season and we’ve got 12 points. There are learning points from it. I don’t like to learn from 40 minutes of how we played in the second half but you have to. They’re the bits we will have to get better at if we’re to become a well-established team in this league. It’s a league that can punish you very quickly and you can’t feel sorry for yourselves. I felt after that first goal we did feel sorry for ourselves. I spoke in the week about how you can get a bop on the nose when you’re not at it and we got that in the second-half, for sure.”
Dean Smith ‘s side saw their 100 per cent start to the season come to an end at Villa Park thanks to a Patrick Bamford hat-trick. Villa had started the season in fine form with wins over Sheffield United, Fulham, Liverpool and Leicester City ensuring they remained the only team left with maximum points. However, Leeds handed Villa a reality-check when Bamford netted three times inside 19 minutes after half-time to inflict a first defeat of the season on the claret and blue.Villa sit in second with 12 points from five games, behind Everton who have a point more.
