VILLA STILL STANDING
THE vultures had been circling. The talk around this place long before kick-off was of when, not if, a relegation exodus would happen. Tyrone Mings to Everton, they fear. Jack Grealish to almost anyone with money and ambition.
Such are the consequences when you’re seven points adrift, as Aston Villa were yesterday lunchtime; when you haven’t won since January and are still taking in the fact Watford and West Ham have secured three points from their weekend matches.
Survival had always looked a tall order for this club, promoted as the fifth-placed team, with an ageing squad which needed an overhaul. But Villa were still standing last night.
There’s been a sense among the coaching staff since the restart that results — two points from 18 — had not reflected performances and some desperatelyneeded proof of that materialised yesterday.
Dean Smith wasn’t exactly grinning from ear to ear at the end of it all. Villa’s poor goal difference means they still need at least five points from games against Everton, Arsenal and West Ham. An early Crystal Palace goal which VAR ruled out reflected underlying defensive frailties which have been evident for the past two years.
But Smith had managed to find some light in the dark and, above all, rekindle the flame which had seemed to have been extinguished in Grealish since the restart. Perhaps it was the look in the eyes of those Villa players with no prospect of a big move if the club drops.
Perhaps it was the knowledge that Troy Deeney, a Birmingham City fan, had scored the two goals which gave Watford points and breathing space. Grealish was contributing, foraging and creating again.
‘Jack doesn’t get overawed or nervous about anything,’ said Smith. ‘That’s just the way he’s made. But it was a much more mature performance from him. He got on the ball and made things happen.’
The Villa manager — who had issued a pre-match warning that ‘some players who drop from the Premier League to the Championship never play in the Premier League again’ — certainly influenced the way Grealish played. He deployed him in a more central position than usual.
His decision to bank on the creative presence of Conor Hourihane in the starting XI also paid a rich dividend. The quality of the Cork man’s delivery proved just as vital as the two goals contributed by Trezeguet, who had not found the net since December.
Smith suggested the Egyptian forward had simply ‘taken a while for a little bit of adaptation’. But in the depths of this endgame, it seemed more a case of Villa discovering luck can run in their favour and seizing on it.
They needed it when Mamadou Sakho rose above Villa’s defensive statues to send Luka Milivojevic’s seventh-minute free-kick past Pepe Reina. The ball hit his shoulder, yet the VAR official,
Jonathan Moss, somehow saw fit to chalk the goal off. It helped that Palace, whose season is vanishing into the nondescript, were so poor.
The deeply ineffective Christian Benteke was sucked into what manager Roy Hodgson described as ‘needling’. He was sent off after the final whistle for what seemed to be an off-the-ball incident with Ezri Konsa.
This was Palace’s fifth consecutive defeat. But Villa’s capacity to create augured well. Trezeguet — a signing from the bargain department — has not convinced everyone around here, though his finishing was consummate. First, he despatched right-footed after Cheikhou Kouyate had fouled Grealish in first-half injury-time and Hourihane arced a free-kick at pace which was cannoned into his path off Joel Ward’s head.
His second came after John McGinn’s cross had been cleared by Ward just before the hour and Hourihane headed it back into his path. Trezeguet’s first touch was decisive, creating time and space for a sharp finish.
Between the two goals came a VAR penalty decision which went against Grealish, whose theatrical fall during a challenge with Patrick van Aanholt did not fool Moss. It was Grealish who had connected with the defender’s boot before he went down. ‘Grealish was trying to get a penalty when it was pretty obvious he had stamped on Van Aanholt,’ said Hodgson.
Smith reflected: ‘I was worried the confidence was going to drain when the penalty wasn’t given, that’s for sure.’ But it didn’t.
‘Today is our first semi-final,’ he added. ‘We can’t control results anywhere else. If we can get that next win, we can put pressure on teams ahead of us.’