Grealish proving to be leader Villa need as he inspires last-gasp win
A RED card, a goal disallowed by VAR and a late, late Aston Villa winner that floored Brighton’s players and sent the home supporters wild. Welcome back to the Premier League.
This had all the elements of an exciting, enthralling clash between two sides grateful to be in the top flight and that only made the scrap for the points all the more entertaining.
There was barely a moment when there was not something to debate or analyse between Adam Webster’s opener for Brighton in the 21st minute and Matt Targett’s late winner for Villa. For it had just about everything else, including Aaron Mooy’s crazy five-minute spell where he was shown two yellow cards and Conor Hourihane’s strike being ruled out by the officials at Stockley Park before Jack Grealish’s effort ahead of half-time was given the green light.
Then throw in Villa’s rather desperate penalty appeal after John McGinn’s shot had clearly rebounded off the back of Shane Duffy minutes before Targett struck.
In the end, Dean Smith punched the air as the home supporters celebrated. Graham Potter stuck out a hand for Smith to shake and then walked to his players to comfort them as four of them lay flat on the pitch. ‘It’s a painful one,’ said Potter. ‘The players gave everything and when it happens with the last kick of the game it’s particularly heart-wrenching for the players.’
For Villa, on the back of that thumping 5-1 win over Norwich, this was what they had craved — a last-gasp win at Villa Park born out of hard graft. Grealish and Tyrone Mings soaked up the applause at full-time after the focus pre-match had fallen on the England central defender.
Villa’s fans held up a banner of Mings in an England shirt and the word ‘PROUD’ at the front of the North Stand before the game.
He was given a standing ovation seconds before referee David Coote blew to start the match. It was a brilliant gesture after the 26-year-old was racially abused during his senior debut for England in the European Championship qualifier against Bulgaria last Monday.
Smith had spoken of his players not exactly needing a break after their demolition of Norwich, but his captain made the most of his few days of downtime. Grealish flew to Switzerland where he stayed in the aptly named Hotel Villa Honegg. The break seemed to do him good. Inside 10 minutes, he controlled the ball in his own half, broke forward and ran towards the Brighton penalty area after skipping past Dale Stephens. He passed out to the right from where Frederic Guilbert supplied a cross that Mat Ryan fumbled in front of Wesley but the striker was at a tight angle and his effort was cleared by Martin Montoya.
It was a positive sign and something for Villa to build on if only they could stay sharp and alert in defence but that didn’t happen. After Hourihane was perhaps harshly booked for a foul on Montoya, Brighton were awarded a free-kick 30 yards from Villa’s goal. Mooy ran over the ball, Pascal Gross delivered, Mings failed to track the cross and Webster headed in.
But it would not be long before Villa would find a way back into the game. It was a five-minute spell that Mooy will want to forget. First, the Australian kicked the ball away after Coote had awarded Villa a free-kick. If that was not daft enough then clattering into the back of Grealish was scratch-your-head stuff. Off he went.
Now Villa had an opening in the game and when Hourihane drove the ball in from McGinn’s cutback, Villa Park erupted.
Those cheers soon turned to boos when it became apparent that Wesley’s obstruction of Ryan had been spotted by VAR. ‘Embarrassing,’ screamed Smith, who later said: ‘It took an age to disallow it and it shouldn’t have been disallowed’.
But Villa, led on the pitch by Grealish, never give up.
Grealish levelled the game on the stroke of half-time with a poacher’s finish and the grand finale was also orchestrated by the 24-year-old.
He supplied the pass to Targett at the back post and the left-back converted for his first Villa goal. Smith reserved his final word for Grealish: ‘It was a captain’s display.’