Houllier praises performance

Aston Villa manger Gerard Houllier was happy with his side's performance despite a 2-1 reverse at Tottenham.

Villa took the lead on a wet afternoon at White Hart Lane through Marc Albrighton but were undone by two goals from Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, who netted with virtually the last touch of the first half and sealed the win in the 75th minute.

It was the first defeat at his new club for French coach Houllier, but the only thing he was disappointed with was the lack of a cutting edge in the final third.

"The performance was good," he told Sky Sports. "I thought it was a good game of football, both sides were probably a bit stretched at times but I was very pleased with the effort and the type of football that my players played today.

"I thought they gave a good image of themselves and played well. The only things we could blame ourselves for is that we didn't take our chances.

"We had a few chances, even in the first half, where we could have probably sealed the game."

Emile Heskey looked like a man reborn in the first half-hour of the match, setting up Albrighton's opener before going off with a knock.

John Carew replaced him up front, and Houllier was pleased with the effort from the big Norwegian.

He added: "I think John came on and did a good job. He's not the same player but don't forget he was involved in some very good moves in the second half and John hasn't played for a few games.

"Maybe he was a bit short of match fitness but for me he did a good job."

On Marc Albrighton's goal, the Villa boss remarked: "I'm pleased because I thought before the game he might be a bit tired, I was about to rest him but he looked very sharp in training and he scored a good goal. Of course Emile made it for him."

Houllier must now wait until 16th October for Villa's next game against Chelsea, due to the upcoming international break.

The former Liverpool manager also criticised referee Mark Clattenburg for allowing too much stoppage-time in the first half, in which Van der Vaart equalised.

"The only thing I was not happy with was that he went far over time because it was far over two minutes," he said.

"It gave a lot of confidence to the other team but still, I think he should have whistled a bit earlier."

View the original article here