Martin O’Neill was livid with referee Howard Webb following Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat in the FA Cup Semi-Final against an increasingly-strong looking Chelsea, which kept the Blues' chase for the double firmly on track. O’Neill believed his side ought to have been awarded a penalty when the pacy Gabriel Agbonlahor turned John Obi Mikel, who clearly hauled down the Villa forward. Webb incredibly deemed the challenge to be fair, infuriating O’Neill, who said of the decision, “this was an injustice. The ref has completely bottled it.” Even Chelsea Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins admitted that it was stonewall penalty, despite not agreeing with the assertion of the Villa boss that Mikel deserved to be sent off, in what was perhaps a slight exaggeration. Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea were average during a first-half that was somewhat spoilt by the Wembley pitch, and despite the set-back, Villa ought to have taken the lead, John Terry diverting the ball away from John Carew before the break, with the striker heading wide from Stewart Downing’s cross early in the second-half. With the game having degenerated into a scrappy affair, Chelsea took the lead on 67 minutes through Didier Drogba, who turned in John Terry’s shot from the inside the six-yard box. O’Neill was once again incensed following Webb’s decision not to dismiss John Terry for an atrocious challenge on fellow England team-mate James Milner, a tackle that according to the Villa manager could have ended the young winger’s career. Aston Villa threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but once again it wasn’t to be for the Villains at Wembley, as Florent Malouda finished off an excellent Chelsea move to make it 2-0, and Frank Lampard casually stroked the ball home from Nicholas Anelka’s pass to complete the scoring in the 95th minute. With the pendulum having swung firmly in Chelsea’s favour in the Premier League title race, following their slightly fortuitous victory at Old Trafford last weekend, few would bet against the Blues to complete a welcome double, that may perhaps go some way to alleviating the disappointment of many Chelsea fans following their Champions League exit at the hands of Inter Milan. Villa meanwhile may well be wondering if their Wembley hoodoo will ever end, whilst O’Neill’s frustration with the refereeing his side has been subject to in both this game and the Carling Cup Final earlier in the season could act to heighten the speculation surrounding the possibility of him leaving the West Midlands outfit at the end of the season.
Saturday 10 April 2010
Referee is once again the Villain of the piece for O’Neill at Wembley
Martin O’Neill was livid with referee Howard Webb following Aston Villa’s 3-0 defeat in the FA Cup Semi-Final against an increasingly-strong looking Chelsea, which kept the Blues' chase for the double firmly on track. O’Neill believed his side ought to have been awarded a penalty when the pacy Gabriel Agbonlahor turned John Obi Mikel, who clearly hauled down the Villa forward. Webb incredibly deemed the challenge to be fair, infuriating O’Neill, who said of the decision, “this was an injustice. The ref has completely bottled it.” Even Chelsea Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins admitted that it was stonewall penalty, despite not agreeing with the assertion of the Villa boss that Mikel deserved to be sent off, in what was perhaps a slight exaggeration. Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea were average during a first-half that was somewhat spoilt by the Wembley pitch, and despite the set-back, Villa ought to have taken the lead, John Terry diverting the ball away from John Carew before the break, with the striker heading wide from Stewart Downing’s cross early in the second-half. With the game having degenerated into a scrappy affair, Chelsea took the lead on 67 minutes through Didier Drogba, who turned in John Terry’s shot from the inside the six-yard box. O’Neill was once again incensed following Webb’s decision not to dismiss John Terry for an atrocious challenge on fellow England team-mate James Milner, a tackle that according to the Villa manager could have ended the young winger’s career. Aston Villa threw men forward in search of an equaliser, but once again it wasn’t to be for the Villains at Wembley, as Florent Malouda finished off an excellent Chelsea move to make it 2-0, and Frank Lampard casually stroked the ball home from Nicholas Anelka’s pass to complete the scoring in the 95th minute. With the pendulum having swung firmly in Chelsea’s favour in the Premier League title race, following their slightly fortuitous victory at Old Trafford last weekend, few would bet against the Blues to complete a welcome double, that may perhaps go some way to alleviating the disappointment of many Chelsea fans following their Champions League exit at the hands of Inter Milan. Villa meanwhile may well be wondering if their Wembley hoodoo will ever end, whilst O’Neill’s frustration with the refereeing his side has been subject to in both this game and the Carling Cup Final earlier in the season could act to heighten the speculation surrounding the possibility of him leaving the West Midlands outfit at the end of the season.
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