A hard one to take.

Today was an incredibly hard result to take as Villa took on Spurs at Villa park, going into this game any Villa fan would have gladly taken a draw as every point is crucial at this stage of the season with Villa fighting for Premier league survival and going into the game just one point above the drop.

Villa came out in front of the Villa faithful in fine form and actually took the lead early on through a driven cross that was met by Spurs defender Alderweireld, Villa held on for a while till Alderweireld scored at the other end from a corner- 1-1. Later in the half there was yet another very dubious VAR decision, that once again went against the Villa and Spurs were awarded a penalty. Reina became a hero when he saved the Pen; only to let the rebound fly past him and into the net when nobody from Villa’s team followed in on the save. 2-1 Spurs at the break.

Villa came out after the break and they truly looked fired up to try and turn this one around. They had a few efforts come close and early in the half they earned themselves a corner which was taken by our skipper Grealish, he played a beautiful cross into the box and I guess it must have been a day for Belgian defenders as it was met by Engels and headed home for his first goal in Villa colors; 2-2.

The rest of the match was a back and forth affair with both teams coming close on a slew of attempts, Spurs had some very prominent attacking opportunities but time and time again they were thwarted by Reina in goal; who made a lot of very good saves. To be honest if Kane was not injured today Villa may have been in trouble.

The game raged on with both teams making positive changes to their lineup to try and force a win and as Villa fans we got to see a debut for new Striker Baston who we managed to obtain on a free on deadline day but coming into a game against potential top four opposition with only a few to go we were never going to see his potential. It is starting to look more promising on the Striker front though with Sammata causing problems today for the Spurs defense and looking better every game.

Villa looked certain to be holding out for the draw, even into stoppage time but then heartbreak. A ball over the top that should have been easily defended by Engels rolled under his foot and Son darted through with a clear run on goal and slotted home the winner. It is worth pointing out that up to this point Engels had a stellar game and just made a bad error in judgement. This was a hard one to take as a lifelong Villa fan but I feel for Engels; he shouldered the blame. On a positive note today we looked like a Premier league team and matched Spurs for the majority of the game. If we can stay up this season and give Dean Smith the time he needs with this core group of players we will surely do better next campaign.

Standout Performances

Sammata- Looked sharp on the ball, hold up play was solid and looked to fight for every ball. Looked threatening just needs time to develop and should be one of the best front men we have had in years.

Grealish- Goes without saying, controls our midfield, a true leader on and off the pitch and deserves that call Mr Southgate!

Engels- Although his error cost us, he is human. A solid game up to that point and all credit for his first Villa goal.