Walcott takes sting out of lacklustre opener

MARTIN O’Neill’s suitability for the Ireland job was evident in Villa’s doughty performance, as they proved his renowned ability to get the maximum from a relatively mediocre squad.

Proof of their new manager’s infectious enthusiasm was demonstrated by the tireless midfield endeavours of the likes of Gavin McCann, in denying us the time and space in the centre of the park to do Villa any real damage. I found it hard to believe this was the same player, who, along with a mainly similar Villa squad, had been such a willing victim of last season’s April Fool’s Day drollery, when O’Leary’s side offered little objection to dropping their shorts for their 5-0 spanking.

We’d already witnessed a couple of goals at our new gaff, during Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial, but Adebayor was prevented from inscribing his name in the record books for posterity, as the first ever Premiership goalscorer there, when his header on the stroke of half-time was ruled offside. So it was all the more galling when we gifted Olof Mellberg an opportunity to carve his initials on the goalposts.

By playing with 11 men behind the ball, Villa appeared intent on merely avoiding defeat. Yet their limited ambitions didn’t preclude them from taking the lead. By the time it dawned on us that they’d neglected to read the opening day script, Villa were able to sit on their single goal advantage and make it all the more difficult for us to break them down.

After pussyfooting around for much of the first hour, the prospect of our guests rudely pooping our party suddenly inspired a renewed determination.

But despite laying siege to Villa’s penalty area for the last half hour, we were banging at the door almost incessantly before Gilberto eventually kicked it in.

I never fully appreciated the importance of knowing how much time is left to play, until I spent much of Bergkamp’s testimonial constantly glancing at the time on my phone. While a clock is still conspicuous by its absence, at least the elapsed time is now apparent on the giant screens.

These showed there were only five minutes remaining when the Brazilian finally caused the net to bulge in front of the new North Bank. Our new home reverberated with a wave of euphoric relief that Gilberto had spared our blushes.

Up to this, with one goal disallowed and two cleared off the line, it had begun to feel as if it wasn’t our day and we could’ve played on until midnight without breaking our duck. However, having finally burst this dam and with Villa suitably deflated, we had built up such a head of steam that if only time would stand still, we might steal all three points at the death.

Still, compared to the prospect of an embarrassing defeat that had loomed so large until the last few minutes, most of us were more than happy to settle for a face-saving draw. Moreover, any disappointment about this opening day anti-climax was tempered by the delightful discovery that Theo Walcott’s natural ability was not a myth.

Theo inspired the second loudest cheer of the afternoon when he stripped off his tracksuit with 20 minutes to go. His cameo appearance as a sub was the perfect antidote for all those who’d begun to lose heart.

There was a buzz of expectation every time the ball arrived at Walcott’s feet and his youthful exuberance and electrifying pace sparked the reinvigorated assault on Villa’s goal, which resulted in the equaliser.

On Sunday, Man Utd started the season with the sort of bang which could prove a crucial boost to their confidence (with the likes of Carrick and Heinze still to come) and Chelsea positively strolled to victory against one of the few Premiership teams who can usually be expected to at least take the game to the Blues and cause them a few concerns.

It was frightening to see Adrian Chiles tot up the cost of Chelsea’s third goal on MOTD2.

I’ve rarely seen Roman Abramovich more animated than he was at Cardiff last week, with his excited response to an initial return on his £30 million investment in Shevchenko. Yet I can’t help but wonder whether the Russian mogul showed any reaction when it was pointed out the players involved in Didier Drogba’s well-crafted goal had a combined cost of £107m.

Meanwhile, we were the club who could’ve benefited most from the sort of goalfest on Saturday that might have settled all our fears about finding our feet at our new stadium. Being 3-0 up from the 1st leg, I’m praying there’s no sign of complacency this Wednesday. If we’re to feel at home by the time we play Boro, we might benefit by banging in a hatful against Zagreb.

With only ten days of the transfer window remaining and with the futures of Cole and Reyes apparently still up in the air, we’re all hoping Arsène still has a surprise (or two!) up his sleeve.

If he doesn’t, perhaps Wenger’s inclusion of Walcott wasn’t without motive, as Le Prof attempts to allay some of the concerns about the lack of depth to our squad.

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