Jack Grealish inspired Aston Villa’s comeback as a late show against West Brom put them on the brink of another Wembley final.
The midfielder set up Conor Hourihane’s leveller and won the penalty for Tammy Abraham to convert and earn a slender 2-1 advantage in the first leg of their Sky Bet Championship play-off semi final.
3
Tammy Abraham was Villa’s matchwinner from the penalty spot
The goals came inside 202 seconds as the Baggies imploded in the final 15 minutes and had Dwight Gayle sent off for a second yellow card late on.
He will miss Tuesday’s return leg at the Hawthorns having scored a first-half opener after seizing on Glenn Whelan’s mistake.
Jay Rodriguez hit the bar in the first half and Albion have it all to do against last season’s beaten finalists, who started brightly.
John McGinn and Grealish combined for a short corner to set up Whelan, who nodded over from six yards after four minutes.
But Villa’s early momentum faded and Albion took advantage.
3
Dwight Gayle had given the Baggies a deserved first-half lead
First Jed Steer and Neil Taylor almost presented them with an opening before the Baggies underlined their threat even further.
Rodriguez was teed up on the edge of the box and it took a fine save from Steer to turn the striker’s shot onto the crossbar.
It encouraged the Baggies and, after Abraham’s acrobatic volley flew over, the visitors took a 16th-minute lead thanks to Whelan’s gift.
The midfielder’s awful touch allowed Gayle to steam towards the area where Tyrone Mings and Axel Tuanzebe scrambled to cover.
But the Newcastle loanee unleashed a lethal low drive from 18 yards which arrowed into the corner for his eighth goal in eight games.
3
Conor Hourihane drew Villa level with a thumping left-footed drive
It knocked the stuffing out of Villa as Albion dug their heels in with a defiant defensive display for the rest of the half.
Ahmed Hegazi was excellent as he repelled the hosts’ effort and the Baggies’ attacking threat relied on sporadic breaks.
Neither side was able to wrestle serious control of the game which slipped into a scrappy affair, the tension around Villa Park palpable.
Mings fired at Sam Johnstone from distance in stoppage time before the visitors were forced into a reshuffle at the break with Tyrone Mears replacing the injured Craig Dawson.
An element of panic hung in the Villa Park air as Abraham glanced wide and Johnstone gathered Grealish’s deflected strike.
MOST READ IN FOOTBALL
paper talk
Sarri to join Juventus next week, Madrid keen to swap Bale for Pogba, plus more
PHIL THE POWER
How £80m Man United target could help Liverpool finally overtake Man City
new dawn
How Inter could look with Conte's targets, including Man United and Chelsea stars
all the best
Hazard writes open letter to Chelsea fans after sealing 'dream' move to Madrid
Beauts
Greatest ever Premier League kits include Man United grey and Chelsea orange shirts
gossip
Arsenal transfer news live: Gunners close to landing Sampdoria duo, Meunier linked
gossip
Tottenham transfer news live: Battle for Sessegnon, Madrid prioritise Eriksen
pay rise
Daniel James 'to earn 16 times more' at Manchester United
Villa pressed but, without the leveller, the home jitters grew along with the frustration at Albion’s perceived time wasting, with Gayle booked for it.
Those worries were erased, though, when the hosts turned the game with two goals in four minutes.
First, after 75 minutes, Grealish created space for Hourihane and when he laid the ball off, Hourihane’s first-time strike from 20 yards flew just inside a post.
Then Abraham sent Villa Park wild when he scored from the spot after Kieran Gibbs brought down Grealish.
Albion’s woes were compounded with two minutes left when, already on a yellow card, Gayle slid in to reach James Morrison’s cross but clattered Steer and saw red.
Every Premier League side's most famous fan, including Mia
Birmingham City have been deducted nine points by the English Football League for breaching profitability and sustainability rules. Following the sanction, Blues drop from 13th to 18th in the
Birmingham deducted nine points by EFL over financial rule
Champions League final: Manchester United in 1999 are the WORST performing team to win competition, according to statistics Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur face off in the Champions League Final on Saturday, but both will be more worthy winners than Manchester United in 1999. The talkSPORT 3 days ago
Manchester United 0-1 Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2018
Jordan Pickford will be asked by Everton chiefs to explain his alleged part in a pub brawl in Sunderland over the weekend. The England goalkeeper, who caused controversy at St James' Park last
Jordan Pickford: Everton investigate after video allegedly
Moise Kean: Who is the record-breaking Italian stealing
But Hoops boss Lennon, left frustrated by the 0-0 home draw against Livingston which puts on hold title joy, denied any knowledge of a deal between Boyata and the mid-table Bundesliga side who
Scottish Premiership - Page 3 - talkSPORT
Headline Ceferin and FA condemn 'abhorrent' racist abuse of England players in Montenegro. England's 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying victory. Kick It Out head of development Troy Townsend
Montenegro v England: Tackling racism in society must come
Ghana national team captain Asamoah Gyan on Monday announced his retirement from international football just weeks before the Africa Nations Cup. Gyan said his decision had been taken as a way to protest a plan by coach Kwesi Appiah to deny him the opportunity of captaining the Black Stars in next month's Africa Nations Cup in Egypt.
Robbie Fowler has been appointed the new manager of Brisbane Roar. His new side are struggling in the A-League - second from bottom with one game to go - but he will be hopeful he can turn their
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler unveiled as new manager of
Albion take on local rivals Birmingham City in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday night at The Hawthorns (ko 8pm). The last time Albion faced Birmingham at home was over eight years ago, with Blues currently in their eighth season in the Championship. They are managed by Garry Monk, who has been
Birmingham City v Albion match preview - News - West Bromwich
Welcome to the Evening Standard's LIVE blog dedicated to the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip. Eden Hazard has all but confirmed football's worst-kept secret as Chelsea's star man is set
Transfer News LIVE: Man Utd, Arsenal, Liverpool latest and
Suarez celebrating Barcelona goal against former side Liverpool causes controversy they definitely thought if Luis Suarez scored against them he wouldn't celebrate. Liverpool fans turn
Liverpool fans chant 'f*** off, Suarez' and 'cheat' to Luis
No comments:
Post a Comment