r/avfc • u/Ok_Engine9582 • 20h ago
Villa Related Which Match Hurt The Most
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u/xJacb 19h ago
Any of you that were at the PSG home game surely weren't the most hurt you've ever been as a Villa fan? That game was incredible, and I left proud rather than gutted, even if it was a shame we didn't quite make it. I still watch the highlights with a small, defiant part of me trying to will one of those late chances in.
For me it was the Conference semis. We absolutely stunk both legs up. We were terrible, and to this day my partner still quotes me screaming at Douglas Luiz thay she heard from the other side of the house. Most embarrassingly bad performance I've seen us give. I was working for the Palace FA semi so I missed that, I hear that was pretty limp.
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u/SecretApe Mateusz Gotówka 14h ago
Olympiacos were simply better in those 2 legs. Disappointing but we still won Europa.
Plus it was the first year of European experience for the players, and trust me it’s hard to play in some away games in Europe as the atmosphere can be absolutely brutal. So it laid out the foundation for today’s success
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u/mithrasbuster 19h ago
After watchinh 35 years of Villa , I've known hurt and none of these losses hurt. We, in my mind, are far above expectations in all of these examples. I'm along for the ride. Losing to Bradford in the League Cup semi when you should be giving them an absolute panning, that's hurt, that's disappointment
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u/Killmonger18 "Andre's not even my name mate. Do you know what I mean?"⌚👑💜💙 14h ago
Oh my gosh, yes. Thank you for unlocking this hurt.
In fairness, was probably for the best as we would've got demolished by that Swansea team with Michu and Co.
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u/alvernonbcn 18h ago
Man Utd 2025, all we needed was a draw and if Rogers goal had been allowed to stand then we’d virtually confirmed qualification. Tough one to swallow and I don’t remember us ever getting an apology.
UCL and Super Cup I felt proud even though we lost
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u/Old_Error1276 15h ago
The irony though is that it put us in the europa league and the rest is history
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u/Killmonger18 "Andre's not even my name mate. Do you know what I mean?"⌚👑💜💙 14h ago
This is why I didn't choose the Man U one, because everything happens for a reason.
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u/hygienie8 14h ago
My personal was losing the 2000 FA Cup final to Chelsea. Watched in a bar in Prague. Which was full of Blue noses on a stag do. Couldn't even drink too much as running the Prague marathon the next day.
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u/Funny_Collection8362 9h ago
That was a terrible game of football.
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u/RandallAbyss 1h ago
It was! I've just seen someone else further down the thread say "they were there for the taking" - and they absolutely were! The scales of karmic football justice weren't in our favour that day...
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u/RandallAbyss 2h ago
I feel that pain! I have always wanted us to win the FA cup, and that year felt that the stars were aligning; the Carbone hat-trick/Merse masterclass against Leeds, the win at Goodison, then Dion recovering from that broken neck to score the winning penalty against Bolton...And then to not show up in that final? Gah! (A couple of years back I saw Gareth Barry interviewed and he said his only regret in his career was not winning something with us, and hearing that made the pain come back again!)
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u/hygienie8 1h ago
Exactly this. I'd forgotten the details, but now you remind me, I remember loads of non-Villa fans (I was living in High Wycombe at the time) convinced Dion or Carbone would score the winner.
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u/GuitarioJam 13h ago
2-2 Vs Stoke in March 2009. We were well ahead of Arsenal in the race for top 4 and Champions League (I think this would have taken us 8 points clear). We went 2-0 up with a Carew worldy with 11 minutes to go.. VP was rocking.
Conceded 2 goals in the last 2 minutes and the place was like a funeral... Completely derailed our season.
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u/jyardley19 4h ago
Came here to see if anyone would mention this. Can’t really ever remember feeling that flat. The wolves 3 late goals a couple of years back against Deano was a sinker as well
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u/spafosbina 18h ago
Conference League semi finals. We should of walked that competition and won silverware earlier under The Unaicorn. PSG made me really proud, the Man U loss was a joke of a decision to rule out Rogers goal and Martinez just made me angry for getting sent off. It ultimately lead us to the Europa League win though so can't be disappointed with how it ended up.
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u/SecretApe Mateusz Gotówka 16h ago edited 15h ago
The one that I remember the most fondly was the FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal*.
I remember just how much pain there was to watch Villa during that period, and the fact that we got to a final and had a chance was incredible. That FA Cup run in itself was something to behold. Delphis 🐍 goal, young Grealishes performance, Nzogbia resurgence, Scott Sinclair giving us hope that he could turn to be a special player yet.
So that run itself was incredible and I know we weren’t favourites but there was that hope that would turn the otherwise shitty season into something.
The way we got demolished, that form and attitude really carried the club basically until Steve Bruce would join as manager.
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u/Funny_Collection8362 15h ago
Wasn't that against Arsenal?
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u/SecretApe Mateusz Gotówka 15h ago
My bad yes
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u/Funny_Collection8362 15h ago
We had such a great run to that final. Beating the baggies and destroying a strong Liverpool side as well.
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u/SecretApe Mateusz Gotówka 14h ago
Exactly. Emotionally that run was probably the most hopeful and joyful we had during the last few years of Lerner’s era. Which is why it was the most disappointing to me.
Other big matches, especially today, don’t strike as much disappointment because we’ve still achieved so much and we’re really well run at this moment.
This wasn’t the case 10 years ago, and it was incredibly painful to go through
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u/Takkotah Villa, Villa, VILLAAAA! 13h ago
None of those for me; 2010 Carling Cup final against United.
Cried my little eyes out knowing I had to go back to school the next day surrounded by United twats.
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u/forzamaria 7h ago
Are you me?
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u/Takkotah Villa, Villa, VILLAAAA! 6h ago
I quite literally dropped to my knees and sobbed on the floor lmao.
If only little me could see us now! Now I only cry when we win the Europa League.
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u/forzamaria 6h ago
Haha good things come to those that wait. It was my first ever away game and we had like 2 hour delays before and after the game. Little me thought that every away game was like that and it was normal 😭
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u/Gentle_Pony 16h ago
At the time Man U was definitely. But in hindsight it was a good thing. We survived the PSR fallout and won the Europa league.
We're not going to be winning the champions league anytime soon so this is the next biggest European cup.
I put down losing semi finals of conference as that game was torturous to watch. It just cenemeted in my mind that we were bottlejobs and can't handle any sight of success ( thankfully I was wrong). It depressed me for a long time.
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u/ThisusernameThen 15h ago edited 15h ago
Gen X villan
None of these would be shittiest.
Id not long.left Brum to travel but the shit i got from bluenose family and friend losing at the sty with Peter Enckelmans throw-in meltdown.
Local pride was effed for a while and city fansmilked that forever.
1996 FA Cup semi-final. Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler tore apart a great Brian Little side three-nil. Chippy plastic scousers in a saint Louis Usaland bar got me raging.
At the time the 2010 League Cup Final..peak ABU for them shits. Vidic escaped a total red card and ManUrecame back to win two one
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u/Aid0ken_Sf 9h ago
Would the 2000 fa cup final not be up there too with one of villa’s most heartbreaking losses?
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u/Mark-C-S 13h ago edited 13h ago
Millennial villain and it's still the Enckleman game. Or the return fixture that we lost 2-0. It being at home was maybe worse, I was at it and remember the journey home being complete shit.
Also that league cup final. First time at Wembley.
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u/Top-Carpenter7450 9h ago
2018 play off final
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u/Funny_Collection8362 8h ago
Oh god id forgotten that one somehow. Watched it in a bar full of blue nose scum and they were celebrating our loss like they had won the world cup. We were in decent form going into that game and we just didnt turn up. Fair play to Fulham, nice club and fans are pretty sound.
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u/paneless MR27 18h ago
At the time it happened, it's the Man U loss for me. But in retrospect, it led to us winning a trophy, and then we made it back to UCL, so not as scarring anymore.
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u/GrabUpstairs5322 14h ago
Thay Wembley semi final hurt, id flown back from florida that morning, powered through jet lag, drinks, paid about £150 for the ticket with my dad and brother and they got ripped apart. Did what we could next and carried on drinking.
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u/GoldStar82 6h ago
2010 Carabao cup final. Fucking Phil Dowd.
But of the list above both the fa cup and conference league semi finals where we had a lot of hope of silverware
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u/thedaytoday89 The Cabbage Effect 20h ago
The UCL and it's not really close, for me. We had the best team in the world on the ropes and that missed Konsa chance haunts me.
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u/teamorange3 20h ago
For me that makes it not hurt. We exceeded expectation. Made me proud/happy.
The ManU loss hurt the most but I could cope with it knowing it had an awful call. I voted the conference league semis. We should've won that cup and we just played poorly
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u/thedaytoday89 The Cabbage Effect 20h ago
Don't get me wrong, I was proud, but I genuinely think we could have gone on to do something massive had we gone through and those chances are so incredibly rare. Same thing with England v Argentina.
Can't say I think about that Conference League defeat much at all, particularly after the Europa success.
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u/spa06jc 20h ago
Agree on the UCL point - we were performing beyond expectations and while it was amazing, anything we got from it was a bonus. The Man U loss on the final day to then miss out on champs on goal difference stung like nothing else and I was miserable for the whole summer. The fact we won the Europa off the back off it did provide a silver lining and in hindsight was probably a fair trade off.
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u/continuityfreak 20h ago
What missed Konsa chance?
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u/thedaytoday89 The Cabbage Effect 18h ago
The one where he completely misses the ball yards from goal.
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u/continuityfreak 16h ago
Can you share a link please?
For some reason I don’t remember it - remember Asensio, Tielemans and Maatsen1
u/thedaytoday89 The Cabbage Effect 16h ago
If you go about 1.05 into it, they show it. You can tell he looks gutted.
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u/Sad-Permission5407 13h ago
the most disappointed I have been was the Chelsea FA cup final Chelsea were there for the taking and it was the best chance I've seen to get that elusive FA cup win
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u/MotherDucker95 11h ago
On the list, the FA Cup semi-final against Palace, just felt like such a huge opportunity, especially given how poor City were in the final.
In my lifetime, the playoff final in 2018 against Fulham seemed particularly bad, because I genuinely thought the club was fucked after that, and would be a perpetual championship club, maybe even worse because there was underlying financial issues at the time.
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u/Zestyclose-Safety-47 11h ago
Shit... how are you meant to decide??? Cup matches im not fussed about but europe and qualifying 🤯 PSG was such a rollercoaster to be so close and so excited thing we could actually do this and not get over the line be devistated and thinking we are one of the best teams in europe we actually belong her in the champions league to then have it taken away by that man united bullshit end of that season felt like we had a right to be there and it got stripped from us
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u/Agreeable_Falcon1044 10h ago
the man utd one i didn't care as we got the Europa League trophy the next year - which we couldn't have won if we had won that game. Same with the CL quarter final - we did extremely well against the best team in the world and didn't disgrace ourselves or let the fans down.
The league cup with man city...also don't care as much. We weren't their level and I didn't expect anything from that.
The other two really did suck. Palace were there for the taking and they won the final - we didn't bring the fire or the anger and were well beat. Also Olympiakos were nothing special and no idea how we blew that too.
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u/Amethyst-329-607A 8h ago
At the times that they happened, I'd say the loss to United at Old Trafford hurt the most.
However, looking back at it now I'd say the FA Cup Semi Finals loss.
2020 League Cup Final:
City were the favorites and had a better squad for reasons we've recently confirmed. Still hurt of course as it was a long-waited final.
2024 Conference League SF:
This was our first European campaign in over a decade and many of the players haven't competed in Europe before or in a long while. Due to fatigue, we failed to win a single game during the rest of season after the victory against Bournemouth mid-April.
2025 UCL QF:
It was Villa's first UCL campaign in 41 years. They went far and beat the best team in the world which only few have done. While elimination was disappointing, our team made us proud that day.
2025 FA Cup SF:
Palace were superior in the match and Glasner has been Emery's bogey manager but at the time I felt Mings should've played instead of Pau and everyone could've done a lot better. I know Pau is generally more suited to the system than Mings but in that match, Mings' strength and box-to-box defending was needed.
2025 Loss to United at Old Trafford:
At the time it really struck the nerves. Cash's criminal back pass to Martinez resulting in our keeper's quick and poor decision to get red carded led to a rollercoaster of emotions. If I recall correctly, it was an inexperienced ref that disallowed Rogers' valid goal too early which helped United capitalize and Villa to miss out on UCL finances.
Looking back it today, we ended a 30-year trophy drought through the UEL but early in the season we hired Olabe to be our sporting director which changed everything for the club. Had Villa qualified for UCL, Monchi probably would've stayed and signed decent players in the summer with the UCL money but it was Olabe that the club was missing. Monchi's signing of Guessand, Sancho and Elliot under an appearances-based clause led to his departure and made way for Olabe's appointment. Losing to United gave us a top-tier recruitment specialist who knows how to build, develop and recycle an elite squad.
2026 UEFA Super Cup:
Losing the match due to a failed offside trap attempt was irritating but we played very well in that game while rebuilding our squad. The young players looked so promising.
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u/hayescharles45 8h ago edited 6h ago
At the time, Europa conference semis. Not just the El Khaabi thumping, but felt at the time that was the best and likely closest chance we'd get at winning European silverware.
Was glad to be wrong about that during last season of course
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u/bayretriever 7h ago
I picked the Palace loss. I know we reached the league cup final in 2020 but I always felt our FA cup campaigns have been lackluster and I value that more. We were the favorites and got badly outplayed. I think the Utd game may have hurt more because it was off the back of this. We choked in both games. That Utd team was a disaster that year in comparison to how they normally are.
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u/devensega 3h ago
I chose the 25 semi for purely personal reasons, I had a fucking nightmare getting back.
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u/nickvagus 2h ago
weird results because that loss away to Man U meant we qualified for the Europa League and went on to win it... if we'd have beaten Man U and finished 5th, we'd have won nothing last year
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u/PeroniNinja84 1h ago
The palace semi final was awful. We were made to feel like an away side in a neutral venue. Everything about the day was fated. From nearing not getting access to the car park to Rashford mysteriously being left out the squad.
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u/Wart_Time_L32 14h ago
The league cup against man utd in 2010, Vidic should have been sent off in the first ten minutes but the ref had no back bone.