Aston Villa conceded a last-gasp goal to lose 2-1 to Nottingham Forest.
During an interview with the club’s official website, Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce has offered his take on the performance of his side, as a late concession handed Nottingham Forest all three Championship points.
Bruce, who deployed a 3-5-2 system, saw his side take a 19th-minute lead courtesy of a Jonathan Kodjia strike from the edge of the area.
However, this was to prove the biggest highlight for the visiting team as Villa’s first-half momentum faded after the game’s turning point.
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The encounter’s most significant occurrence, the dismissal of Villa’s main creative spark Jack Grealish, enabled Forest to apply prolonged late pressure to supplement their favourable amount of possession against their midlands rivals.
Ultimately. much to Bruce’s despair, following Britt Assombalonga’s equaliser in the first half, Forest academy graduate and rookie forward Ben Brereton converted a 93rd-minute strike to send Villa back along the M42 empty handed.
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When reflecting on the outcome, Bruce was damning in his assessment of referee Paul Tierney, questioning the official’s eagerness to send Grealish from the field of play.
Grealish was cautioned for dissent in the first period, as a result of kicking the ball away, and in the second half was awarded the decisive second yellow for an unnecessary foul on former Villa man Eric Lichaj.
Bruce, as reported the club’s official website, suggested that Grealish’s dismissal was questionable. Indeed, the Villa boss commented that for the first caution, ‘there’s a defiance in kicking the ball away, but he’s passed it to one of their centre-halves’, before revealing his belief regarding the second offence, that ‘the referee couldn’t wait to send him [Grealish] off’.
The Villa manager bemoaned Villa’s recent poor form, where they are winless in 2017.
According to the club’s official website, Bruce explained how, ‘Sometimes it’s cruel. When you’re in a run like this, everything seems to be going against you.’
As reported by AVFC.co.uk, Bruce also eluded to a permanent fixture in reference to the new 3-5-2 set-up. The former Birmingham City manager stated, ‘It’s a system I’ve used before and one I quite enjoy. I think with what we’ve got up front now it will work.’
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Following the Forest result, Villa sit in 14th position in the Championship table and face an upcoming double-header of home games – against Ipswich Town and Barnsley – in which they will hope to rescue their poor form by securing maximum points.
What are your thoughts on the Grealish red card, Bruce’s 3-5-2 and Villa’s winless streak? Leave your comments below.
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