Villan a derby hero
Sub Darren Bent sent a message to Paul Lambert with his equaliser against WBA, said Dwight Yorke.
Last Updated: 30/09/12 6:35pm
Dwight Yorke praised Darren Bent after the striker rescued a point for Aston Villa against West Brom.
Substitute Bent cancelled out Shane Long's opener ten minutes from time in the West Midland's derby and Yorke told Sky Sports the Englishman had sent a message to his boss Paul Lambert, who had started him on the bench.
"That was a great response from Darren Bent," said former Villa frontman Yorke.
"Any quality player will look for a reaction and he came off the bench and did that. Clearly he's disappointed - and he had a little dig at his manager in the post-match interview - but there's only one way to send a message and that's by scoring a goal.
"We know Bent's link up play is not so bad but at the end of the day he's there to score goals. That's what he's all about."
Yorke also praised the spirit of Lambert's side after they went behind to Long's close-range effort on 50 minutes.
"Villa responded fantastically after they had gone behind," he said. "That's testament to the manager and the fighting spirit they've got within the camp. Lambert would have learnt about his team's character in this game.
"Going 1-0 down was disappointing but Villa didn't go into their shell, they came back at West Brom and got the result.
"It was a great ball in for the goal but they got a little lucky that it came out to a Villa player - and the one player you want it to fall to is Darren Bent.
"I'm sure Villa will be disappointed they couldn't quite get the winner at the end after that but they can take a lot from their performance after going behind.
"This was a game Villa could not have afforded to lose."
Baggies blow it
However, Kevin Phillips thought West Brom were primed to take all three points after opening the scoring just after half-time.
"I thought West Brom started the second half exceptionally well and they deserved their lead," he said. "It was a good move by them and a good finish by Long.
"For the first 15-20 minutes of the second half they played exceptionally well but, as you would expect here at Villa Park, Aston Villa were pushing for the equaliser and you only have to give Darren Bent a sniff inside the penalty area and nine times out of ten he'll hit the back of the net."