Burton Albion vs Aston Villa. Carabao Cup Second Round.
Pirelli Stadium.
Aston Villa will face an away trip to either Bristol City or Northampton in the Carabao Cup third round
Wednesday 16 September 2020 08:23, UK
Jack Grealish celebrated his new contract at Aston Villa by scoring late on against Burton to help send his team through to the third round of the Carabao Cup.
The tie looked to be heading for a penalty shoot-out after club-record signing Ollie Watkins had scored Villa's equaliser late in the first half to cancel out Colin Daniel's opener for the League One side after only 68 seconds.
But Grealish, who earlier on Tuesday had signed a new five-year deal with his boyhood club, struck a sweet volley from the edge of the area to edge Dean Smith's team in front after 88 minutes.
Keinan Davis made sure of the victory in injury time as the 3-1 win saw Villa set up a trip to Bristol City or Northampton in the next round.
Grealish was named captain of a strong Villa side at the Pirelli Stadium which included six players who played for the club in last season's final.
New signing Watkins made his debut, while the likes of Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause, Ahmed Elmohamady, Marvelous Nakamba and Anwar El Ghazi also started.
So it was a surprise when the League One side took the lead with little more than a minute played.
Ryan Edwards did well down the right side of the area and flashed a low ball across the face of goal for Daniel, arriving at the far post, to steer into the roof of the net.
Villa created a handful of chances in reply, without troubling 17-year-old goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe.
Jacob Ramsey was inches away from El Ghazi's cross as he slid in, Grealish saw a shot deflected wide and Hause headed over the crossbar before the half-hour mark.
As half-time approached, El Ghazi volleyed wide from the edge of the area. The pressure was building on Burton and six minutes before the break Villa drew level.
A lovely piece of play by Grealish out on the left set Neil Taylor free inside the area and his low cross was tapped home at the far post by Watkins for his first goal for the club.
Burton almost went straight up the other end and restored their lead after some sloppy play from Nakamba, who lost possession cheaply, allowing Edwards to curl a shot narrowly wide, with Orjan Nyland scrambling across his goal.
Some more wing wizardry from Grealish should have seen Villa head into the break in front. The England international slalomed his way into the area and along the byline before teeing up Watkins, who scooped his shot over, via the top of the crossbar, from just six yards out.
Another mistake, this time by Mings, saw Kane Hemmings nip in and shoot just wide at the start of the second half.
Much of the second half saw Burton working tirelessly off the ball as Villa's superior quality in possession began to tell.
However, the League One side showed dogged determination and good levels of concentration and organisation to largely keep their more illustrious opponents at arm's length.
Grealish had a couple of attempts blocked and home defender John Brayford poked a Elmohamady cross just past a post, narrowly avoiding an own goal.
Jota went close with a 25-yard strike before Grealish eventually made Villa's pressure tell, meeting a corner from the left with a volley which flew low into the net.
Davis then latched on to Henri Lansbury's through-ball to seal victory in injury time with a low finish across Sharman-Lowe and into the bottom corner.
Burton manager Jake Buxton: "I thought our organisation and hard work without the ball was tremendous, but that little bit of quality has hurt us. We're disappointed we conceded the goals we did but the effort and way we played, the amount of opportunities we had on the ball, tried to play and the understanding of our work rate without the ball was tremendous.
"It was a great start, we've come racing out of the blocks at home in both games now. We've had that tradition for many years here, keep going after teams and make sure we have a good start, but we probably did sit off too much once we got the goal but we've got to respect the opposition when they've got the quality that they have."
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith: "The objective is to win the game and get through to the next round and we've done that. We had a really good run in the cup last year, getting to the final, and we want to try and do that again.
"I thought Burton started better than us, we didn't really compete with them in the first 15 and we were a bit slow on the ball but we got our just rewards in the end for the amount of possession we had.
"Jack scored a good goal at the end from a corner and he set some really good bits of play up for us… I'm pleased Ollie has got off the mark straight away, I know what he can do and I'm sure he'll be disappointed that he missed the one before half-time as well."
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Grealish was asked whether his future at Villa had been '50/50' before he signed the new deal, amid speculation over his future this summer.
He sad: "Yeah I suppose it was. I had a good season last season, there was interest, but I believe everything happens for a reason and I've happened to sign a new contract here, and I've got the biggest smile on my face.
"It was sorted yesterday. I decided that I wanted to stay after I had a chat, well saying that I always wanted to stay - it's Aston Villa, it's a club that's close to me and my family. I think everyone knows that. But there's been speculation through the summer. I had a FaceTime call with the owner on Saturday, he said what his ambitions are for this season and that persuaded me if anything.
"I spoke to the manager and Christian Purslow, who've both been a breath of fresh air since they've come in. Yesterday talks got underway, and it was done within 24 hours, it was quite an easy one and now I'm delighted to have signed it."
Burton will host Accrington Stanley on Saturday in Sky Bet League One (kick-off 3pm). Aston Villa will be back on Sky Sports on Monday Night Football when they welcome Sheffield United to Villa Park (kick-off 6pm).
