If Aston Villa avoid defeat at West Brom on Tuesday then they will be preparing for a trip to Wembley.
Lee Hendrie has praised Conor Hourihane for bringing the best out of Jack Grealish during Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over West Brom on Saturday afternoon.
The Baggies took an early lead in the first half when Dwight Gayle pounced on Glenn Whelan’s mistake as Villa’s constant attacks before the break proved to be in vain.
Grealish continuously got on the ball, but at times found himself dropping deep before the introduction of Hourihane just after the hour mark changed everything.
Speaking to Sky Sports Football (11/05/2019 at 2:45 pm), Hendrie explained why Hourihane’s introduction changed the way Grealish was playing.
“The difference in the second half for me, I mean it was so one-sided anyway, but how many times was Jack in the box from the first half?” Hendrie stated on Sky Sports. “He was sitting back. All of a sudden that introduction of Hourihane brings that extra man, more forward play and then how many times did we see him on the edge of the box where it could have been rolled into him for a shot?
“It worked out so well. It was screaming out for it and fair play to Dean he held his horses and brought the main man on who produced.”
Dean Smith is now aware that if Villa avoid defeat at West Brom for the second leg on Tuesday night then they will be making another trip to Wembley.
Hourihane started from the bench on Saturday and given the impact he had on Villa’s win, he may just find himself starting the game at The Hawthorns.
Other than that, Smith might decide to stick with the same team and hope to continue his teams recent run of form which has seen them win 11 out of their last 14 matches.
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