Dean Smith’s rampant Aston Villa side were able to secure qualification to the final of the EFL playoffs with a game against either Derby County or Leeds United on the horizon for the Villans. They came into the tie with a 2-1 advantage but this was cut out in the first half when Craig Dawson’s looping header found the net.
After this, despite the red card shown to Chris Brunt, West Brom’s adamant defence stood strong and they managed to force the tie into extra time. Although Villa dominated possession, they were unable to find any real quality in the final third and the game was to be decided by penalties. A couple of fantastic saves by Jed Steer were backed up Tammy Abraham’s winning spot-kick to send Villa to Wembley.
Here are the Aston Villa Player Ratings:
The former Norwich City man saved 2 spot-kicks and effectively won his team the game in the shootout.
The Egyptian fullback was one of Villa’s biggest attacking threats but he could’ve done better with the crosses.
The Manchester United academy product has been a fairly solid figure at the back for Villa over the course of the campaign.
The man brought in from the Vitality Stadium in order to provide cover has proved his worth once again on the night.
Was quite poor for massive periods in the first half but showed his quality once Villa started dominating play.
Wasteful with the ball at his feet at times but brought a bit of composure into the centre of the park for Villa.
Responsible for getting Chris Brunt sent off as he was the victim of both the yellow card tackles.
Looked a mature player over the course of the second half and applied himself well off the ball too.
Didn’t offer too much width in the first period but burst into life in the second until he got subbed of.
Was poor on the ball at times and could’ve buried of couple of his chances big stepped to score the winning penalty.
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The Dutchman certainly wasn’t at his best against West Brom on the night but did create some positive plays.
Here’s how some thrilled Aston Villa fans reacted to this crucial win: