Villa players happy with match practice
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Generally unaffected by their surprise 2-1 loss to League of Ireland Champions Bohemians FC at Dalymount Park, the Aston Villa players were a lot more focused on having gained some valuable match practice rather than dwelling on a defeat as their pre-season trip to Dublin came to a somewhat disappointing end.
Captain Stiliyan Petrov was the first to face media questioning after the game and the former Celtic man suggested that neither he nor any of his team-mates had underestimated Bohs in any way and were glad of the competitive encounter:
"I’ve played a couple of times against Irish teams and I know how well organised they are and they always give us good games and I’m not surprised."
Adding: "Some of the boys who hadn’t played here before were asking what kind of games it’s going to be and I said it’s going to be a very hard game and it showed just how hard it was today"
Villa’s goal scorer John Carew echoed the sentiments of Petrov as he gave a few moments of his time to extratime.ie whilst signing every piece of paper that was thrust in his direction all the way from the corner flag to the half-way line:
"It was OK, it’s a pre-season game so it’s a good session, good fitness and a good team."
When asked about Villa’s ambitions for the 2010/11 campaign Carew maintained that the club would continue it’s pursuit of a Champions League place undeterred by the big spending of Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur:
"Yeah of course, we don’t lower our ambitions for any season."
As the sole Irish player in Villa’s travelling brigade Richard Dunne also lent his time kindly to autograph hunters and media hacks alike and was quick to praise the impact Carew made on the game having been introduced as a half-time substitute:
"I think we’re still missing Emile Heskey as well and they’re two players who’ve got the physical presence and when John is on-form he’s a handful for anyone so he’ll be an important player for the club this year."
The 57 times capped Republic of Ireland international even had time to wish Bohs Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers the best of luck ahead of next Thursday’s Europa League encounter with Juventus before departing for the airport as the Birmingham giants continue their pre-season preparations in Portugal.
Captain Stiliyan Petrov was the first to face media questioning after the game and the former Celtic man suggested that neither he nor any of his team-mates had underestimated Bohs in any way and were glad of the competitive encounter:
"I’ve played a couple of times against Irish teams and I know how well organised they are and they always give us good games and I’m not surprised."
Adding: "Some of the boys who hadn’t played here before were asking what kind of games it’s going to be and I said it’s going to be a very hard game and it showed just how hard it was today"
Villa’s goal scorer John Carew echoed the sentiments of Petrov as he gave a few moments of his time to extratime.ie whilst signing every piece of paper that was thrust in his direction all the way from the corner flag to the half-way line:
"It was OK, it’s a pre-season game so it’s a good session, good fitness and a good team."
When asked about Villa’s ambitions for the 2010/11 campaign Carew maintained that the club would continue it’s pursuit of a Champions League place undeterred by the big spending of Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur:
"Yeah of course, we don’t lower our ambitions for any season."
As the sole Irish player in Villa’s travelling brigade Richard Dunne also lent his time kindly to autograph hunters and media hacks alike and was quick to praise the impact Carew made on the game having been introduced as a half-time substitute:
"I think we’re still missing Emile Heskey as well and they’re two players who’ve got the physical presence and when John is on-form he’s a handful for anyone so he’ll be an important player for the club this year."
The 57 times capped Republic of Ireland international even had time to wish Bohs Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers the best of luck ahead of next Thursday’s Europa League encounter with Juventus before departing for the airport as the Birmingham giants continue their pre-season preparations in Portugal.
About Eoin Manning
Eoin Manning has been a part of the extratime.ie reporting team since 2009 and covers the Dublin clubs. Eoin also writes for many of the countries national newspapers and can be contacted at eoinpmanning@gmail.com View Full Profile