Dean Smith: Aston Villa must defend better
Dean Smith tasted defeat for the first time as Villa boss and bemoaned a failure to take chances and defend crosses for the reverse at Norwich City.
The Villa head coach saw James Chester’s first-half headed opener from a corner cancelled out by a similar striker from the Canaries’ Jordan Rhodes, and the Norwich forward then went on to win the game with a second strike midway through the second half.
But Smith said he felt Villa should have come away with the three points had Tammy Abraham converted a chance to put Villa two goals to the good in the first half, but the effort rebounded off the post.
The result saw Villa slip to 16th place in the Championship, and Smith said: “We didn’t defend two crosses into the box – and that was the sum of it really.
“I thought it was going to be a really good football game but (in the end) I didn’t think it was, I thought we cancelled each other out. There weren’t many shots on goal at all.”
And he added that the missed chance for a second goal was crucial.
“We got a really good lead and then we had a really big chance to make it two-nil and if we take that I think it’s game over,” said Smith.
“You have to take your big chances when they come along.”
Abraham was taken off with a blow to the head but Smith said he should be fit for the trip to QPR on Friday night, though Albert Adomah is a doubt after being forced off after a clash of knees.
