Benteke late winner gets Sherwood and Villa off the mark

Time will tell whether Tuesday’s breathless 2-1 victory over West Brom will prove to be a genuine turning point in Villa’s troubled season, or a one-off triumph in a memorable Midlands derby. But it was a result to celebrate on a night that Villa Park rediscovered its voice, and the hosts finally remembered how to win a game of Premier League football — a first victory in nearly three months.

It was also a night of firsts. Tim Sherwood’s first win as Villa manager, on his third attempt. The first goal the Villans have scored in the final 15 minutes of a league match this season. And the first penalty the club have been awarded in the entire 2014-15 campaign.

You’d be hard pressed to find a first-team player more badly affected in the confidence stakes in recent weeks than Christian Benteke and yet the Belgian almost sauntered up to take the spot kick in the final minute, sending Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster the wrong way with a dummy before calmly tapping into the bottom corner. Benteke’s smile on the final whistle was almost as wide as his manager’s.

Villa deserved this. Of course, anyone with claret and blue blood in their veins would say the same, but it’s true. Sherwood’s side could have been three or four goals up by halftime and then, having allowed West Brom to equalise with their only meaningful effort on goal 25 minutes from time, pulled themselves together in time to go hunting for the winner. Many of the Villa fans inside the stadium might have settled for a point — after seven straight defeats that’s at least something to hold on to — but the hosts, driven on by Sherwood, went for all three points. And got them.

Sherwood was brought to the club to shake things up and he certainly hasn’t been afraid to do that during his first three matches in charge. He kept both Scott Sinclair and Carles Gil on the bench against West Brom and started instead with Charles N’Zogbia; the winger’s first inclusion in the starting XI since Dec. 28th was not an obvious choice. The manager also kept faith with Gabby Agbonlahor, who has been underwhelming for weeks.

The striker responded with what was probably his best performance of the season. There is something about local derbies which seems to bring out the best in the Villa man, and for the first hour of the match he was superb. His battle with Joleon Lescott was one-sided. He raced away from the West Brom centre-back to put Villa ahead in the first half — either side of that goal he saw efforts cleared off the line. After the break, one forceful turn and run ended with Lescott bringing him down, and receiving a yellow card because of the foul.

The Albion player, however, received a measure of payback by climbing above Agbonlahor, deep at the far post, to head the ball back into the path of Saido Berahino. The striker converted from close range to tie the game up.

A first win in three months gives some muscle to Aston Villa’s push for Premier League survival.

By that stage N’Zogbia — who had a decent evening – had been substituted for Jack Grealish. This is where Sherwood is unpredictable. He’s clearly prepared to give everyone in his squad an opportunity. The 19-year-old hadn’t played a single minute of the manager’s opening two games but he was the first change with half an hour to go. The second was Leandro Bacuna, given a little longer than against Newcastle on Saturday. The message from the coach seems to be that there are places available — go and grab one.

Grealish was good. Not decisively, match-winning good, but he made his presence felt. He pulled wide left most of the time and gave West Brom some uncomfortable moments. One side-footed volley was well-placed, if lacking power. And later, after just failing to collect the ball and get into the box, he won possession back and earned a free kick. Another curling effort was blocked. It was pleasing to the talented youngster actually given the chance to play.

Sherwood will have been encouraged by the winger’s impact and excited by his team’s late surge. The dramatic flurry was sparked by Fabian Delph’s fierce long-range strike — the midfielder had hit the post at the end of the first half — and when the ball was crossed back in, Foster made a mess of a routine collection before panicking and yanking down Matt Lowton. Benteke kept his head as just about everyone else in Villa Park completely lost theirs.

It’s same again in a few days, when the two clubs meet in Saturday’s FA Cup quarterfinal. The atmosphere might be a couple of degrees higher still with a semifinal place at stake, but Villa’s players will go into the game with a win behind them — and that hasn’t happened too often this season.

Kevin Hughes covered Premier League football at Match magazine and was later deputy editor of Sport. You can follow him on Twitter @KevHughesie.