Euro push is on after Villa shine without Jack
DeAN SMITH grabbed the opportunity to praise some of his less celebrated players as Aston Villa enhanced their european prospects without Jack Grealish. The Villa boss noted that watching england manager Gareth Southgate would have been impressed by left back Matt Targett. He namechecked holding midfielder Marvelous Nakamba as ‘good with and without the ball’ and hailed the improvement of teenager Jacob Ramsey, preferred here to Ross Barkley. It was the day Villa officially stopped being a one-man team as they broke a run of defeats whenever Grealish isn’t on the pitch. Anwar el Ghazi’s early goal coupled with emiliano Martinez’s 13th clean sheet of the season proved enough to eke out a gutsy win at elland Road and have fans talking about a return to europe after a decade away. Smith is trying to dampen expectations, but John McGinn was happy to show a little excitement after enjoying the fighting spirit of his team on Saturday. ‘It was about rolling our sleeves up,’ he said. ‘Anwar showed a bit of quality in the first half and we flung bodies on the line and did anything it took to get the three points. ‘We’ve got that in us. That’s what it’s going to take to make this a special season.’ McGinn also highlighted his own unsung hero, right back Ahmed elmohamady — deputising for the injured Matty Cash. ‘Big shout to elmo,’ said McGinn. ‘Cash has been different class all season but elmo came in today against one of the best players in the league (Raphinha) and was excellent.’ It is unclear whether Grealish can recover from a shin injury to face Sheffield United on Wednesday, but at least Villa now know they can do a job without him. Martinez will also be assessed for a groin injury that required painkillers at the weekend, but Smith does have Tom Heaton in reserve. Leeds weren’t their usual selves despite Raphinha missing a late chance to equalise. A choppy pitch appeared to hinder their flowing football. ‘It wasn’t the best surface but we can’t use that as an excuse,’ said their midfielder Mateusz Klich. ‘We tried but it didn’t work this time.’ LEEDS UNITED (4-1-4-1): Meslier 6; Ayling 7, Llorente 5.5, Cooper 6, Dallas 6; Struijk 6 (Alioski 53min, 6); Costa 5.5 (Harrison 64, 6), Klich 6, Roberts 6 (Hernandez 71, 6), Raphinha 7.5; Bamford 5.5. Subs not used: Casilla, Davis, Gelhardt, Cresswell, Jenkins, Huggins. Booked: Roberts, Klich, Hernandez. Manager: Marcelo Bielsa 6. ASTON VILLA: (4-3-3): Martinez 7; Elmohamady 6, Konsa 6, Mings 6.5, Targett 7; Nakamba 7, McGinn 6.5, Ramsey 6.5 (Sanson 79); Traore 6, Watkins 7, EL GHAZI 8 (Trezeguet 88). Subs not used: Heaton, Douglas Luiz, Taylor, Barkley, Engels, Davis, Hayden. Scorer: El Ghazi 5. Booked: Targett, Elmohamady. Manager: Dean Smith 7. Referee: Peter Bankes 7.5.