Last Sunday’s performance against Queens Park Rangers was far from perfect but we achieved the most important thing – a win!
There is no doubt that ours was the better team and had the lion’s share of the chances so it is only fair that the Villans came away with all three points.
What was most encouraging from my point of view was that winning ugly, as we did, is not something that we have been very good at in recent years.
On so many occasions recently we have been made to pay heavily for our lack of ruthlessness and the inevitable punishment for our toothlessness was one of the more depressing aspects of being a Villa fan.
However, on Sunday I saw something else. I saw a team that, despite not totally convincing, persisted and eventually broke through.
For much of the game, I felt like it wouldn’t be our day. I am just too used to our players not being able to score and losing out big time at the other end.
This feeling was of course exacerbated by the penalty miss. When the goalkeeper stopped Kodija’s effort, I was filled with the sinking feeling that has become so common when watching Villa, recognising that we are struggling because we are not cut throat enough and don’t take our chances.
Thankfully, the confidence did not flow out of the players like it has done in the past. Instead, they kept at the task and were rewarded.
This can be encapsulated in a few individual performances, most notably that of the match winner.
Kodjia could easily have retreated into his shell after such a high profile blunder but he did not and it was his energy and tenacity that led to the winner, which was brilliant to watch.
On a side note, it would be good to see him shaking up his penalty of choice. It seemed obvious to everyone that that was the side he would go down, as it is clearly his preference, but hopefully this scare will be enough to encourage him to alternate styles.
So, all in all, it was a very pleasing result, particularly as the last match was such a frustrating game.
Last week, I wrote about how we need to get three wins out of our next four games. After last Sunday, that is one down. Bring on Burton Albion on Boxing Day!
