Aston Villa secured a 2-0 win over Brighton on Saturday as we put an end to our two-game losing streak with an important victory.
Goals from Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins either side of half-time sealed the victory for us, and ultimately it was a welcome win after back-to-back defeats and no goals scored in our last two outings.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Brighton: Cash, Watkins help secure crucial 2-0 win
Villa boss Steven Gerrard was unsurprisingly pleased with his side’s performance this weekend, while he also heaped praise on Watkins after he ended his goal drought having come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
Further, he was also highly complimentary of youngster Tim Iroegbunam, with the 19-year-old coming off the bench to make his senior Villa debut.
Having finally got back to winning ways, it’s hoped that this result now acts as a foundation for Villa to build on and put together a good run of form, with Gerrard finally getting a positive reaction and performance out of his players after a difficult few weeks.
“I thought the effort that the team and the substitutes gave was fantastic,” he said after the game, as seen in the video below. “I spoke to the players before the game and said we’ve always got to have purpose; it doesn’t matter where we are.
“The most important purpose is the supporters. I thought they were terrific today and we gave them a performance to be proud of.
“Strikers are confidence players and they love to score. I tried to take the pressure off him last week by taking him out of the firing line because there was a lot of noise around us and around Ollie. It was important to reset him.
“It’s about resetting after every result – win, lose or draw – and focussing on the next one. The players have been outstanding this week, recovering from a tough defeat against Watford. The performance was there against Watford, but the last bit of our play wasn’t.
“We need to build on this positive win. We’ve got Southampton at home and we need to improve our home form. If everyone applies themselves like they did today, it gives us a better chance.”
"The most important purpose is the supporters, I thought they were terrific today and we gave them a performance to be proud of." 🙌
Steven Gerrard reacts to an impressive victory! 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/2f9Cx3H2gT
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) February 26, 2022
