Aston Villa played out a frankly bonkers 3-3 draw against Preston North End on Tuesday.
Aston Villa were looking for a win against Preston North End on Tuesday night, and few would have predicted the dramatic scenes at Villa Park.
After one win in eight, under-fire boss Steve Bruce desperately needed a positive result, and it all started so well as Jonathan Kodjia and Tammy Abraham struck in the first half to put Villa 2-0 up.
However, it all changed in the second half. James Chester brought down Lukas Nmecha for a Preston penalty, and the Welsh defender was given a straight red card before Daniel Johnson stepped up to score.
Paul Gallagher then scored a free kick to put Preston level, and Louis Moult’s header appeared to have given Preston an unlikely win as he put the Lilywhites into a 3-2 lead with just three minutes to play.
However, North End can’t stop conceding goals this season, and did so again as Yannick Bolasie equalised for Villa, and Villa then won a 95th minute penalty – only for Chris Maxwell to save Glenn Whelan’s spot kick in a staggering second half.
It may have been a great game for the neutral, but a second half collapse and then missing the chance to claim a much-needed win is not what Bruce was looking for, with further questions about his job after last night’s result.
Ex-Villa striker and boyhood fan Stan Collymore took to Twitter to offer his view, and didn’t hold back as he suggests it’s simply time for Bruce to go after two years in the Villa Park hot seat.
Collymore added his confusion at Whelan taking the spot kick despite more attacking players being on the pitch, but did praise him for having the guts to step up for such an important kick – even if he wasn’t successful – whilst also accusing other players of not delivering.
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