Right road as Bruce’s boys maul the Millers
ASTON VILLA boss Steve Bruce feared it may have been another one of those days before his team came good to win at rock-bottom Rotherham.
An own-goal from Will Vaulks and a late second from Jonathan Kodjia saw them register their first away win of 2017.
But the game was littered with missed chances and until Kodjia made the game safe a spirited Rotherham threatened to make Villa pay for their wastefulness.
In the end they got the job done to secure a third win in a week and ease any niggling fears of being pulled into a relegation fight.
Bruce said: “It was an awful six weeks, I can’t deny that.
“But when I look back at the Ipswich and Forest games, we did enough to win.
“We had 50 shots on goal – and I thought it was going to be something similar here.
“We have missed so many opportunities. We could have been three-up in the first half.
“But in the end it took an own-goal to make the breakthrough.
“I was always confident we could get one because of the law of averages but there was a nagging worry it might be another one of those afternoons. We have done enough to win the game.”
It was a 26th defeat of the season for Rotherham and now – 18 points adrift of safety – it is surely only a matter of time before their fate is confirmed.
They could have been three or four down in the first half as Lewis Price twice saved well from Albert Adomah and Conor Hourihane, while Aimen Belaid produced a heroic goalline clearance.
Villa had some luck in their opening goal as Vaulks could only turn Adomah’s cross into his own net.
And after Bruce’s men weathered a Rotherham onslaught, Kodjia sealed the win with a low shot.
“Hand on heart they were better than us and deserved the win,” said Rotherham’s interim boss Paul Warne.
“My job and remit is to win as many games as I can and send the fans home happy.
“The lads gave me everything but it wasn’t enough to win the game.”