Matty Cash integral in Aston Villa draw after what he did to Bournemouth star
Matty Cash was one of the brightest performers as Aston Villa failed to capitalise on a dominant performance against Bournemouth on Saturday (26 October).
Unai Emery was made to wait until the 76th minute before Ross Barkley stroked home to give the Villans a much-deserved lead, though that was cancelled out by the last kick of the game by Evanilson.
Of course, Villa will see the end result as two points dropped rather than one point gained, but the manager can take plenty of positives from the game and Cash was certainly one of them.
The Poland international has been battling for the right-back spot with centre-back Ezri Konsa, but with the latter moved into the middle for the clash, it was the 27-year-old’s time to shine.
Up against Antione Semenyo, Bournemouth’s most dangerous attacker who has been dubbed “powerful” by Lewis Cook [BBC Sport], the challenge could not have come much harder for him.
Matty Cash silences Antoine Semenyo in Aston Villa draw v Bournemouth
Semenyo has three goals and an assist to his name so far this season, and with a 55 per cent dribbling success rate [FotMob], he is a tricky customer to deal with, even when away from home.
Cash was seemingly unthreatened by the winger, however, only earning a caution from referee Chris Kavanagh in the fourth minute of added time at the end of the clash.
During his 90 minutes on the pitch, the right-back was dispossessed zero times, made four recoveries, and won 50 per cent of his tackles and 67 per cent of his ground duels, while only making one foul [FotMob].
The Bournemouth man was clearly frustrated by his near-flawless display, picking up a yellow card for simulation after trying to con the referee into giving a penalty off Cash.
Cash was also important going forward, completing 88 per cent of his passes, creating one chance, completing 100 per cent of his dribbles and accurately delivering 67 per cent of his crosses.
While Villa could not hold on for all three points, Emery’s right-back will come away from the draw with a new-found confidence after marking Semenyo out of the game completely.
In other Aston Villa news, Mike Dean reacted to a controversial moment v Bournemouth, leaving the Sky Sports studio in stitches.
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