Analysis: Kevin Friend's howler can't disguise truths on a day when Aston Villa disappoint

From 97 minutes of largely forgettable football at Selhurst Park sprang one dominant discussion point, courtesy of Kevin Friend’s colossal stoppage time cock-up.

Or should that be viewpoint? For whoever you spoke to and wherever you looked, there weren’t many people making a case for the referee’s defence.

“One of the biggest howlers you are ever likely to see,” was how Jermaine Jenas described it and for once the one-time Villa loanee was speaking for the majority.

On a basic level, Friend’s blunder denied Henri Lansbury a first Premier League goal and Villa a point. Yet it also disguised certain truths, while making others clearer.

There is no doubt it took the focus away from a Villa performance comfortably the poorest of their season to date.

Granted, Dean Smith’s men had the disadvantage of playing close to half the match a man down after Trezeguet’s 54th-minute dismissal but the fact they were probably better with 10 than 11 spoke volumes.

After the euphoria of Everton, this was an afternoon which revived some of the concerns present in the defeats to Tottenham and Everton, particularly this team’s prowess in the final third of the pitch.

What the late carnage also confirmed, however, is that Villa remain very much united. Amid the chaos and confusion, one of the most striking images was players going over as one to applaud the travelling supporters, who responded in turn with a show of appreciation.

A return of just three points from the opening four fixtures can only be deemed disappointing if not a little worrying. Yet Villa do not yet have the look of a club in trouble.

Maintaining that mindset will be key when the campaign resumes a fortnight today at home to West Ham, a fixture Smith’s men may well begin bottom of the table.

No question performances will need to improve. Though Villa have certainly had their bright moments, all three defeats to date have largely been deserved including Saturday, when Palace were better for long periods.

Circumstance might have created a sense of burning injustice but there could be no argument, on the balance of play, the result was a fair one.

Lansbury’s ‘goal’ constituted Villa’s only accurate shot in anger across the piece, with home goalkeeper Victor Guaita too often a spectator.

His opposite number, Tom Heaton, had instead already saved from Jeffrey Schlupp and twice from Luka Milivojevic before Jordan Ayew eventually wriggled free to break the deadlock with 17 minutes remaining.

Ayew’s was a performance full of pace and power, along with an aggression lacking in Villa’s centre-forward, Wesley.

The Brazilian, who had opened his account in the victory over Everton, began promisingly enough with a couple of early if relatively weak efforts on goal. He very quickly faded, however, with Villa’s lack of presence up front allowing the hosts to gradually assume control.

On the flanks, Jota also failed to hit the heights seen against the Toffees, while Trezeguet was also struggling to make any real impact before his match was brought to a premature close. The Egyptian international, so bright in the opening hour of the season at Tottenham, has failed to get anywhere near the same level since.

Villa had plenty to be unhappy about when it came to the refereeing but his second yellow card, for needlessly upending Wilfried Zaha, was one decision on which there could be no complaint.

Smith’s reaction to the sending-off was a reminder of the Villa head coach’s attacking mentality as he introduced Keinan Davis as a second striker.

It was reminiscent of his decision-making the last time his team found themselves a man down, after Tyrone Mings’s dismissal at Rotherham four months ago.

There it worked, with Villa fighting back to claim a pivotal victory on their route to promotion. Here, against more talented opposition, it didn’t, the visitors actually getting caught on the counter-attack in the build-up to Palace’s goal.

Davis did at least provide Villa a focal point in the final third and Smith will argue, with some justification, that his further decisions to bring on Conor Hourihane and Lansbury eventually earned his team a leveller, only for an officiating error to snatch it away.

The biggest positive, in terms of performance, again came at the heart of defence where Mings and Bjorn Engels continued their impressive form.

In truth, Engels did commit the first glaring error of his Villa career when he waited just a little too long in possession and was robbed by Ayew early in the second half. Mings, however, was there to cover and ensure Cheikhou Kouyate could not create an inviting enough angle for a shot which flashed well wide.

Barring a couple of minor slips early on, Villa’s defensive leader was at his imperious best and it took a moment of misfortune, when Grealish’s attempted clearance cannoned into his legs, to give Ayew the space he needed to score.

At left-back, there was another solid performance from Neil Taylor, who was able to limit Zaha’s impact despite being one of four visiting players booked by Friend during the opening half.

Taylor has been among the most consistent performers during Villa’s first month back in the top flight but questions remain over his ability to influence events in the attacking third.

It is that area of the pitch where Smith’s evolving team requires the most improvement, after an opening chapter to the campaign which has delivered optimism yet ultimately not enough points.