JACK PROVES TO BE ACE FOR VILLA
IF Aston Villa are destined to bid for Premier League promotion in the play-offs, then so be it – but Steve Bruce hasn’t yet given up hope of clinching a top-two spot.
Bruce, who led both Birmingham and Hull to Championship play-off final glory, in 2002 and 2016 respectively, saw Lewis Grabban strike to mathematically confirm his Villa side’s place in the end-of-season shake-up.
The Bournemouth loanee nodded home his fifth goal in claret and blue to account for mid-table Leeds, keeping Villa breathing down the necks of Fulham and Cardiff.
“If we can lose a few games in succession, then so can others. It’s what the Championship is,” said Bruce. “The difficulty for us is that we’re looking for two teams to dip.
“We can’t give up hope. We’ve done our bit and put the pressure on. We’ll look forward to the challenge [of the play-offs] if that’s the way it goes for us.
“They’re great games to be involved in. If you can get past the semi-final and have a big day out at Wembley, then there’s nothing better.
“I’ve had the fortune of doing it twice through the play-offs. If it needs to be, let’s hope it’s lucky the third time around as well.”
Just a few days after his howitzer against Cardiff, midfield spark Jack Grealish impressed again, scooping a cross into the area for Grabban to rise above Matthew Pennington and cushion a header inside the post.
Bruce added: “Where would we be if we’d been without him all season?
“I could say that about the time we’ve had without Jonathan Kodjia, and John Terry too. We’ve had to deal with big setbacks and injuries.
“I hope Jack still has plenty in the tank. He’s certainly got a spring in his step.”
Conversely, Paul Heckingbottom has led his side to just two victories in the 13 games he has been Leeds head coach.
In midweek, the former Barnsley boss dismissed speculation over his future and said defeat to Villa gave him plenty to think about as he plots putting his own stamp on his team ahead of next season.
“You learn a lot from these moments, going forward thinking about the team,” he said.
“I’m learning a hell of lot about the players. We’re definitely, as a collective, nowhere near where we need to be, so whatever changes are made, we want to produce a stronger squad.”
Leeds carved out the first significant opportunity of the game when Ezgjan Alioski drove inside and had a thunderous effort palmed over the bar by Sam Johnstone under the Friday night lights.
But Villa soon took control of proceedings, with Robert Snodgrass having a curling leftfooted effort beaten away by visiting goalkeeper Bradley Peacock-Farrell.
Just before the half-hour mark, an over-hit Ahmed Elmohamady cross found its way to Grealish, who steadied himself before delivering a ball onto the head of Grabban for the only goal of the game.
In the second period, Glenn Whelan headed a Kalvin Phillips effort off the line to safeguard Villa’s advantage, while Leeds’ Ronaldo Vieira fired not far over the bar.
Bruce’s steadfast troops, who are bound for the Championship play-offs at the very least, had done more than enough to claim their third win in four games, keeping their promotion push in rude health.