The Cottagers were on the back foot from the third minute when John Pantsil scored an own goal, then the game was killed off when Gabriel Agbonlahor grabbed a second on the hour mark.
But Hodgson was not going to use the 4,500 miles of travelling his side had to do in the build up to the Villa Park clash.
He said: "We can't choose the excuse of tiredness from playing in Russia on Thursday. We have to find the energy and do better in games.
"We did not show enough energy against Chelsea last week and it was the same today. We have to work hard in training to sort that out and to defend better as a unit."