Gabby Agbonlahor undid much of the damage he did to his relationship with Aston Villa fans by scoring the Second City derby winner.
Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor and Jack Grealish celebrate after the match
Leandro Bacuna has backed Gabby Agbonlahor to continue to make an impact for Aston Villa after the forward made a match-winning contribution in the Second City derby at the weekend, the Birmingham Mail reports.
Agbonlahor was previously a somewhat divisive figure amongst Villa supporters having failed to make much of an impact for the side over the last couple of years – his previous goal before the clash with the Blues came back in February 2016 – but certainly helped his popularity rating amongst the Villans faithful with the winner in the derby that left Birmingham just two points above the bottom three in the Championship.
And Bacuna has suggested that the goal may now be the catalyst to much greater things for the forward.
“He can still be very good for this team,” he said, as reported by the Mail.
“He is 30 but he still has the pace. His work-rate is good, he never gives up. He can be good for the team going forward.
“We need to keep helping him and give him the confidence he needs.”
Steve Bruce will certainly be hoping that Agbonlahor’s goal will be the first of many for the 30-year-old during his tenure. Villa have looked much better over the last few months, but no fan can deny that they have been heavily reliant on the goals of Jonathan Kodjia, who has scored 15 more goals than any of his teammates.
And if they hope to build upon the promise that they have shown in the recent weeks and make a promotion charge next season, then Bruce will need all of his attacking players to start firing more regularly.
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