Last Saturday’s Championship Play-Off Semi-Final derby clash between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion at Villa Park didn’t exactly go how many thought it would.
With both sides more than demonstrating their attacking prowess across the season, whilst we knew there would be tight periods and it wouldn’t be exactly free flowing, Villa were pretty below par and Albion parked the proverbial bus.
We got our just rewards with a 2-1 victory though, and given how their fans moaned about the Tony Pulis days, with them timewasting from minute one, I guess once the initial disappointment has wore off – at least for those who don’t think they were cheated out of a result – they certainly won’t be happy with their own approach to the game.
In any event, head coach Dean Smith was pulling no punches as he spoke to the Official Site following the match, and when asked what our approach to the second leg on Tuesday would be, he had this fantastic response.
“I said before that the tie couldn’t be won today. We’ve given ourselves an advantage, but that’s all it is. We’ve got to go and perform at The Hawthorns now. It’ll be a different game. I can’t see them playing how they did today. We’ve got to recover now and go there full of confidence. There’s a lot of belief in this team, that’s for sure.”
Adding.
“I won’t be sat behind the ball as much as Albion were today! My aim is to go and win the game. We’ll be looking to score more goals.”
