Aston Villa beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 on Friday night.
Aston Villa picked up a second home win of the Dean Smith era on Friday night as they beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at Villa Park.
Smith opened up with a 1-0 win over Swansea City last month, but then followed that up with disappointing losses on the road at Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.
Getting back to winning ways at Villa Park was vital for Smith heading into the game against a struggling Bolton side, and he got the result he wanted in a 2-0 victory.
Vila took an early lead when Tammy Abraham turned and played through a superb pass for Jack Grealish, who took the ball around goalkeeper Ben Alnwick before slotting into the empty net.
Villa made it 2-0 in the second half, as defender James Chester headed home a Jack Grealish free kick to seal all three points and a clean sheet in a fine performance.
Smith will be delighted with the win, and also with how his tactical experiment went, as he deployed midfielder Conor Hourihane in a holding role in order for the Irishman to get on the ball and dictate play.
Fans took to Twitter to suggest that they enjoyed Hourihane’s display, branding him ‘brilliant’ in a holding role, with many hoping that they will see more of him there, especially in home game, with former midfielder Ian Taylor also adding his praise for Smith’s tactical switch on Friday night.
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