Aston Villa knocked out local rivals Birmingham City thanks to a superb Rudy Gestede header in the second half to knock out Gary Rowett’s side. Read Aston Villa bring you the two good and two bad from the game.
TWO Good
- The first half was drab and absolutely awful. At half time, Sherwood made two changes with Jack Grealish and Jordan Ayew coming on for Joleon Lescott and Gabriel Agbonlahor respectively. The changes made totally changed the complexities of the game. You have to take your hat off to Sherwood for the changes he made in the second half.
- Grealish is the conductor. Mesmerising, and superb Jack Grealish was a vital player in the second half. He created chance after chance and opened up gaps that were closed in the first half. Without Grealish Villa simply do not have a creative outlet. It is amazing how vital the youngster has already become to the Villa side.
TWO BAD
- The first half. Do we even need to talk about the first half? It will hardly feature much on a highlights DVD. Put plainly the first half was not pretty and the long ball route one tactics deployed didn’t work. Ciaran Clark in midfield did not work at all.
- Gabby Agbonlahor. Gabby picked up a niggle in the first half and it really affected his performance. He was subbed at half time rightfully with his temper starting to rise as well. Agbonlahor was booked early doors.
