Lowton lauds valiant Villa

Aston Villa defender Matthew Lowton hailed his team-mates for earning a point against Arsenal at Villa Park on Saturday.

The Birmingham club went into the game with just nine points to show for their first 12 games of the season and sitting in the relegation zone, but they managed to hold the Gunners despite only keeping two clean sheets so far in this campaign.

Indeed Villa may well have snatched all three points late on, but Australian midfielder Brett Holman was denied by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, and overall Lowton was delighted with the result.

“We’ve had a tough three fixtures and two defeats coming into this one, it was vital we got a point,” Lowton told The Daily Mail.

“The lads defended well and we created some great chances. The draw’s fantastic and we need to keep the momentum into Tuesday night (against Reading).

“We had to reshape a bit but everyone from the top two to the back, everyone defended fantastically and that’s why we got the clean sheet.”

Next up for Villa is a visit from fellow strugglers Reading on Tuesday, where a win will see Paul Lambert’s men move four points clear of the Royals.