Steve Bruce lavished praise upon Jack Grealish, after the 21-year-old’s fantastic strike secured Villa all three points on a tough afternoon at Villa Park.
With Villa aiming to return to form after the first defeat of the Bruce era last weekend, the manager recalled Grealish and Ayew to his starting XI as he aimed to take the game to a Wigan side struggling in the bottom three.
However, both sides struggled to create any clear-cut chances, with heavy rain not helping either side
With just under two minutes left of normal time, Grealish received the ball on the edge of the area and curled his shot into the back of the net.
Speaking after the game, Bruce heaped praise upon the academy graduate for his match-winning contribution.
It was a great goal from Jack. I am really, really pleased for him.
It’s not easy for a 21-year-old now. But thankfully we are talking about him in the right way tonight because it was a truly wonderful goal.
However, he was also keen to stress that Grealish’s fantastic strike had covered up a disappointing performance from his side.
If we are honest, we must handle the ball better. We gave it away too cheaply.
We must move it quicker too. We found it very difficult.
Villa’s next game sees Bruce take his team to face his former side Norwich at Carrow Road on Tuesday evening.
