BRUCE DECLARES OPEN SEASON ON WOLVES HUNTING AFTER VILLA ROMP
Leaders bruised by biggest defeat of the season
ASTON Villa manager Steve Bruce is hunting down wobbling Wolves at the top of the Championship.
Villa did what the Championship thought was impossible and thrashed the league leaders .
Everyone has been tipping Wolves to run away both with the title and promotion but Bruce insisted: “I’ve always said it would take an almighty collapse to catch Wolves after the standards they’ve set – but this is the Championship.
“We all suffer the tickly bits and it’s how you handle that.
“Wolves are a very good team with players who were playing in the Champions League last season but we have to chase them down. We are English, it’s what we do. There’s 10 games to go and we've given ourselves a chance.
“We’re a threat going forward and they all put a shift in defensively too. The only thing I demand from anyone who plays for me is that you have to put a shift in. I don't mind a mistake. The key for me is to work hard and we worked as a team – but we have to keep doing that.”
Villa took the lead early through Albert Adomah and after Jota had equalised, Villa unleashed fury on Wolves in the second half.
James Chester, Lewis Grabban and finally substitute Birkir Bjarnason took Wolves apart and hit them with their biggest defeat of the season.
Cardiff can certainly catch Wolves now and Villa, seven points behind, will fancy their chances as well.
“It is painful for everyone,” said Wolves boss Nuno. “I organise my thoughts and I try to analyse. We try to see what went wrong and get it right for the next game.
“The first half we played well but then we made mistakes early in the second half and that brought two goals. We made mistakes we should not do and they changed the game.
“It is important now that we recover and win against Reading on Tuesday. We need the support of the fans at Molineux. There is pain for everyone right now and we need to bounce back.”
Premier League football is the prize these two are fighting for and they got a taste of what it will be like if they make it with a tremendous atmosphere.
The decibels were raised even higher when Adomah put Villa ahead in seven minutes. He turned the ball in on the goalline as Wolves dealt miserably with a Robert Snodgrass corner.
Wolves’ form prior to that big midweek win at Leeds has been less impressive than their roaring start to the season, and there was a big early question for them to answer here.
Cardiff, in second place, had closed the gap on Wolves to three points just over half-an-hour before kick-off with a 3-2 win over Birmingham. After 113 days as leaders of the Championship, how would Wolves react to the pressure?
We found out by the 20th minute.
Wolves, held in submission by Villa’s vital start, finally raided dangerously down the right through Matt Doherty.
It was a bit like Vila’s goal in that it could have been avoided. Doherty nut-megged Neil Taylor and got his pass into the penalty area. James Chester tried to clear but only diverted the ball, causing goalkeeper Sam Johnstone to be caught off balance.
Ahmed Elmohamady then became the last line of defence but Jota got there, three yards out, and virtually stumbled the ball over.
The game was left even, open and intriguing until Villa got their second.
Snodgrass’s dead-ball delivery is a key component of Villa’s attacking threat and his 57thminute free-kick was perfect for Chester to time his run and stretch out a leg and put the ball past keeper John Ruddy.
Five minutes later and Villa were in total control.
The impresive Jack Grealish was behind this one, his pass sending Adomah away down the left and Grabban was in front of Willy Boly to score his fourth goal in four games since his loan from Bournemouth.
Villa’s finale was a flourish. Bjarnason turned with no danger or threat, but then made some. He ran at Wolves as they backed off and then finished by hitting the fourth goal.