Mings gives Villa new hope and drags Watford back into trouble
Five minutes into added time, and Villa Park was shaking after a potentially huge moment in the Premier League survival scrap.
It was a shot from the right foot of defender Ezri Konsa, taking a fortuitous deflection off the leg of Tyrone Mings, which lifted Aston Villa out of the relegation zone and dragged Watford back into trouble on a night of unrelenting drama.
Villa’s players celebrated in front of the towering Holte End at the final whistle as if they had escaped relegation on the final day, and this was undoubtedly a result that could spark their season back into life.
Without a recognised centre-forward in the squad for the fourth successive match, it was always going to require a surprise scorer and up stepped Konsa, a summer signing from Brentford, with the crucial contribution which left this famous old ground reverberating with noise.
The goal was awarded to Mings, who was on the turf as Konsa’s shot clipped his leg, and Villa’s head coach, Dean Smith, is now above the dreaded dotted line.
“It was an important win for us and we won’t know how big it is until the end of the season,” said Smith. “We know there are big games to come and every game is tough. It does give the players a lot of belief. We’ve got to concentrate on catching the teams above us and the players need to make sure they remain focused.”
For much of the evening, desperation had gripped Villa like wet rope, transforming their home into an arena of anxiety.
After three defeats in their previous four home games, including a 6-1 hammering by Manchester City, there have been growing fears that Villa’s return to the top flight could be all too brief.
It had also appeared as if Troy Deeney would haunt the old enemy again. He has a Birmingham City tattoo on his calf, is a selfconfessed “Bluenose”, and just cannot stop scoring against Villa.
This was the fourth successive game in a row Deeney had scored against them and for long periods it looked as if he would be condemning the old enemy to another damaging defeat. revival under Nigel Pearson has been impressive and their game plan here was simple: to soak up pressure and attempt to capitalise on the counter-attack, and Deeney made no mistake with their first threatening moment. Gerard Deulofeu was sent down the right after an exchange of passes with Abdoulaye Doucoure and his cross into the penalty area found Deeney, who powered in a header from six yards. Deeney had been unmarked, despite the presence of Villa defenders around him, so it was another poor goal for Smith to agonise over. Pepe Reina, the Villa goalkeeper who was making his home debut, was powerless to prevent that goal but produced two important saves 10 minutes into the second half. It was Deeney again causing problems with his physical presence, forcing Reina into two saves from inside the six-yard box as the home defence failed to clear the danger.
There was further frustration for Watford when Mings, who had been booked in the first half, escaped a second caution despite appearing to handle the ball and prevent a counter-attack. Pearson admitted afterwards that his players were convinced Mings should have been dismissed.
Smith had to make changes and on came Douglas Luiz for Danny Drinkwater in the 56th minute, after another underwhelming performance from the Chelsea loanee.
It was a substitution which proved crucial. Villa were level in the 68th minute, with Douglas hammering the ball into the roof of the net after Ben Foster could only palm away a low shot from Matt Targett.
But the winner came from an unlikely source, with Konsa driving the loose ball into the top corner – via Mings – to spark wild scenes of celebration.
Pearson has demanded an immediate response, after only the second defeat since his appointment.
“It’s a setback for us and we didn’t deserve to lose,” he said. “It’s not always going to be a positive outcome and providing the players always show the right intent in games and show commitment then that’s going to be the most important thing moving forward. It’s important we deal with this pretty quickly.”
Aston Villa (3-4-3) Reina 7; Konsa 6, Mings 6, Hause 5; Guilbert 6, Drinkwater 4 (Douglas Luiz 56) , Nakamba 7, Targett 6; Trezeguet 5 (Vassilev 77), El Ghazi 5, Grealish 7. Subs Nyland (g), Elmohamady, Chester, Hourihane, Lansbury. Booked Mings, Douglas Luiz. Watford (4-2-3-1) Foster 6; Mariappa 6, Dawson 7, Cathcart 6, Masina 6; Chalobah 6 (Pussetto 75), Capoue 6; Pereyra 6 (Gray 81), Doucoure 7, Deulofeu 7 (Kabasele 90); Deeney 7. Subs Gomes (g), Pedro, Quina, Holebas. Booked Cathcart, Doucoure.
Referee Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire).
Nearly man: Ezri Konsa (left) celebrates thinking he scored Villa’s winner, later credited to Tyrone Mings (right)