Premier League 2

Division 2

Monday 10th January 2022

Kick Off 14.30 Actual 14.29

Aston Villa U23 1 Middlesbrough U23 2, attendance 200

21’ 0-1 (pen)

66’ 0-2

82’ 1-2

@ Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, Stadium Pitch

Bodymoor Heath Road

Bodymoor Heath

B78 2BB

£5 Admission, e-ticket.

Team Sheet, free.

I was quite surprised on Sunday to notice that tickets for this match had gone on general sale, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic causing a number of top clubs to close their training grounds recently due to outbreaks. It just required registering to obtain a fan I.D. number to enable buying a ticket online.

I had actually seen a match at Bodymoor Heath before, when I saw Villa U18 beat their Wolverhampton Wanderers counterparts 3-1 in a Midland Youth League game, back on 17th December 1994. In those days the ground was immediately to your left (it is still there) as you turned in off Bodymoor Heath Road. Another 400 yards along the driveway is a section of the new training complex that has 4 pitches along with an indoor training centre, then another 3-400 yards further on is where todays game was played. There are a number of full and small sized pitches in this section, as well as a 3G pitch that backs on to the main Stadium Pitch.

The league table suggested this might be a home win, as Villa were fifth, having taken 22 points from their 13 games, whilst Middlesbrough had won just 4 of their fifteen games, losing the other eleven. It certainly went against form. Boro were the better side for long periods, taking a first half lead with a penalty scored by Calum Kavanagh. The same player added their second, rounding the ‘keeper when put through, before finishing from a tight angle. A late 20 yarder from Finley Thorndike, that the ‘keeper should really have saved, was too little, too late, as far as Villa getting anything from the match went. The second half had deteriorated badly, not helped by the constant time wasting from Boro, which was happening for the entire half. Unfortunately, we had a Referee who was too weak to put a stop to it.