VILLA WINNERS BY A MILE

Bruce’s boys in driving seat as Jedinak strikes

THIS may have been Aston Villa’s first Football League play- off match but at least they have a manager who knows how to negotiate post-season passage to the Premier League.

Steve Bruce’s four promotions to o the top flight are a record and, with h two of those having arrived via this s format, it was no surprise to see his s side emerge in control ahead of f Tuesday’s second leg.

It was not pretty but it did not t have to be. Instead, Villa scored d early from a clever set- piece through Mile Jedinak and duly absorbed all their hosts — or rather, r, Adama Traore — could throw at them. Indeed, Boro boss Tony Pulis would have begrudgingly admired d the slickness of the job done.

It has been a difficult year for r Bruce, who lost both of his parents s within a few months of each other. But how he would have been comm forted by this performance and the sound of his name emanating from 2,000 travelling fans on full-time.

They appreciate the transformation at their club since the arrival al of Bruce 19 months ago. He inherrited a team closer to League One e than the Premier League but canny y acquisitions such as John Terry, y, Ahmed El mohamady, Rober t Snodgrass and Glenn Whelan have e stabilised the dressing room.

Nowhere is that influence more e evident than the form of Jack k Grealish, whose teasing corner r gave Villa their winner.

‘Jack is now looking up to players s who do it properly as opposed to o being around people who don’t,’ ’ said Bruce. ‘He can have a wonderful career if he keeps progressing. He gets you off your seat.’

Boro’s Traore can also do that, but he can have you hiding behind your seat just as easily. Pulis has brought huge improvement from the former Villa winger in recent months. Perhaps too much, in fact. For you do wonder if t heir t eam- t al k extends much beyond, ‘Give it to Adama and see what happens’.

What happened here was that Alan Hutton, at 33, kept quiet an opponent 11 years his junior from start to finish. ‘All week in training it has been based on stopping Traore with Alan,’ said Bruce. ‘He was immense.’

Pulis, though, would not bite on the suggestion that his side are over-reliant on the Spaniard.

‘There were times when he had some good patches,’ he said. ‘He is a terrific player, a fantastic talent.’

A play- off match rarely needs added poignancy or volume but this one got both courtesy of Leo Percovich. Boro’s former goalkeeping coach was involved in a car crash in December in which his daughters, aged five and 10, were killed.

The Uruguayan was back here for the first time to say thank you to the club’s fans for their messages of support and was joined on the pitch before kick-off by his young son, who survived the accident.

Percovich was a terrace favourite during his four years at the Riverside and the chest-thumping tribute he paid all four corners of the ground told you why, with the noise generated leading to a frenzied opening from the home side.

But, with their first attack of the game on 15 minutes, Villa scored, Jedinak flashing home his nearpost header from Grealish’s expert delivery.

Boro’s response was to pass to Traore. Such dependancy, however, can warp a player’s mindset and Traore played like a kid in the schoolyard, charging down blindalleys and frustrating the life out of team-mates, often better placed. But, when there are so few alternatives, he is a talent who must be tolerated.

Boro had plenty of possession but they did little with it. That was in part because of their limitations but more so the resilience of a Villa defence led by their captain Terry. Jonny Howson is one who can rival Traore for a touch of ingenuity and the midfielder twice laid on chances for striker Britt Assombalonga, who missed the target from inside the area on both occasions.

Villa’s Snodgrass came within a fingertip of doubling the lead in first- half i njury- t i me but was denied when Darren Randolph diverted on to the post.

‘If that goes in it might have been all over,’ said Bruce.

Such was their professionalism and resilience here, you suspect one goal could yet be enough.