BLOO MARVELS
Tyrone’s last-gasp winner sinks Hornets
TYRONE MINGS stung The Hornets with virtually the last kick of the game in this relegation clash.
Ezri Konsa pounced in the final seconds as his shot struck Mings and went in to clinch a crucial victory against relegation rivals Watford.
It was a real kick in the guts for Nigel Pearson’s side, who looked like they were on the way to victory thanks to a first-half goal from Villa tormentor Troy Deeney (inset).
But that came to a crashing halt when Mings got his back in the way of Konsa’s shot to add to Douglas Luiz’s 68th-minute equaliser.
It’s not just Deeney’s goals that frustrate Villa fans – it’s just about everything about him that rubs them up the wrong way.
The striker, a Brummie born and bred, is a lifelong supporter of Villa’s arch rivals Birmingham.
He even has a tattoo to prove his allegiance inked on his calf and when he hits the net against Villa he doesn’t mind showing his delight. He scored two against them in the 3-0 win at Vicarage Road a month ago and this one made it six in four games against the old enemy.
He helped himself to three in the season Villa went down five years ago, too.
This one really was a kick in the guts with such a high value on the points from this game down at the wrong end of the table. He pounced in the 38th minute with an unstoppable header after Villa had been split open down their left flank.
Gerard Deulofeu made full use of time and space to put in an inch-perfect cross to where Deeney was waiting just six yards out to score with a bullet header.
He raced behind the net to taunt Villa’s fans with a mock pained expression which was never going to go down well at
Villa Park. One or two idiots hurled coins at the Watford forward but Deeney didn’t react.
In the 56th minute he so nearly grabbed a second when he seized on a loose ball just a few yards out after Pepe Reina had parried a Deulofeu shot away.
Deeney got his shot away, but not with quite as much power as he’d have liked and Reina managed to block it with his legs.
Villa looked in trouble but they stuck to their task and got their reward when Douglas Luiz equalised in the 68th minute.
Full-back Matt Targett stung the hands of Ben Foster with a left-foot shot that the goalkeeper could only parry out.
Luiz spotted his chance, pulled back his left foot and hammered in a blistering shot which almost ripped the roof of the net out.
Then with the last kick Watford fans had their hearts broken as Konsa’s strike hit Mings and rebounded in to the top corner.