Cometh the hour, cometh the own goal.
It really doesn’t matter that the game against Brighton was messy, or Aston Villa found it difficult to generate much momentum for long periods, or even – though it would have been appropriate – that Tyrone Mings, in a landmark 200th appearance for the club, does not have his name on the goal itself. Entertaining your paying spectators is important over time, but last night the result was everything.
“We needed to get three points,” said Unai Emery. “The process to get three points is very important, and today it was competing more than playing and dominating a lot… Always we were trying to get something to win. Set-pieces was another way to try to get it, and we did it.”
Mings has all the qualities demanded for this moment. Now in his seventh season with Villa, injuries and the gradual upgrading of the squad in recent years have seen him become less involved on the field, but his standing within the club overall is undiminished. In the absence of John McGinn in particular, his personal skills at tense times become especially important.
“All the time he’s played [for Villa], he’s always looked like a leader,” said BBC Radio WM’s Villa summariser Garry Thompson after Wednesday’s game.
“He’s made the odd mistake but he never lets it get to him… A proper leader, and he got the goal Villa needed. Horrible game, great result, move on.”
The injuries to McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara have clearly put the squad under strain since the start of the year. After the extraordinary period before Christmas when Villa were in full flood, their recent performances have begun to meander, especially at home.
But Emery refuses to accept invitations to feel sorry on behalf of his team. Asked after Wednesday’s victory whether those injuries were affecting Villa’s ability to break through opponents, he adopted the strong, slow tone of a headmaster.
“Keep calm. Today, fantastic job Douglas Luiz. Today, fantastic job Onana, Ross Barkley adding minutes, Lindelof playing as well as a midfielder and helping us, and Lamare Bogarde” – special emphasis – “FAN-TAS-TIC when replacing today Cash. THIS is the new.” So there.
“He’s leaving them with no option for an excuse,” says Thompson. “What we’ve got is good enough to compete in games, and if we compete in games we’ve got a chance of winning the game… We’ve lost two out of three players who would get into most Premier League sides and we’ve still had to find a way.” They did, and for now, that’s good enough.
Listen to full commentary of Aston Villa v Newcastle at 17:45 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio WM
And tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights
