Maatsen dissects Fulham draw

Ian Maatsen gave his reaction as Aston Villa were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Villa Park.

The Villans went 1-0 up in the opening period, though were made to settle for a point after the Cottagers equalised after the break.

The left-back felt his side’s second-half performance gave the visitors encouragement, but backed the Villans to respond and go again.

He said: “We started the game well. Fulham are a good side, and it’s not easy to win (against) them.

“We went in front and did well, but I thought in the second half we gave them a little bit more time on the ball, not pressing them like the first half.

“Because they’re a good team, they have good players, they can make chances and put pressure on.

“We were unlucky (with) the goal, but we tried to keep fighting. The most important (thing) with these games (is that) we don’t lose.

“We take a point, we analyse and we go again as a team.

“We have a lot of confidence at home, we just need to keep going (and) fighting for each other.

“These types of games when it doesn’t go our way, just stick together as a team, keep fighting, keep running for each other and we’ll be fine.”

One positive for Villa was Nicolas Jackson notching high eighth goal of the season, and fifth in his last five Premier League outings.

Maatsen praised his teammate’s work rate and discussed Jackson’s importance on the field.

“Nico is a very good player,” the Dutchman added.

“He’s working very hard and every time he’s on the pitch, he tries to work hard for the team.

“He scores a lot of goals for us, so he’s very important.”