Alan Hutton’s incredible Aston Villa career took another twist at the weekend in the Second City derby.
It was always going to take something incredibly special to stop Jack Grealish’s diving header being the abiding memory to emerge from Aston Villa’s win over Birmingham City on Sunday.
Grealish’s header was unquestionably a fantastic moment, with the Solihull lad seeing Villa turn the game on its head in rapid time after Dean Smith’s men had gone behind.
But somehow, Alan Hutton managed to steal the headlines with the fourth goal in the victory. The right-back channelled his inner-Diego Maradona – a prospect Villa fans probably expected to contemplate – and danced through the Birmingham midfield and defence to bag a stunning solo goal.
Hutton collected the ball inside his own half and did not stop running until he was being embraced by the supporters while the stewards desperately attempted to haul him back towards the pitch.
And when Hutton slapped the badge on his shirt with all of the emotion that supporters crave from their players, it was perhaps fair to say that his road to redemption – which was almost as long as his run for his goal – was complete after seven turbulent years at the club.
There have been numerous times when Hutton has looked to be on his way out of Villa – including this summer before he signed a new contract (via BBC Sport) – but he has fought his way back into the fold.
And with his goal on Sunday, it is probably fair to say that he has now secured the kind of cult-hero status that few would have imagined a few years ago.
Here are some of the images of the goal and the emotional reaction…
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