aston villa 3 v 3 sheffield united

Outplayed and outclassed for almost the entirety of the game Villa still, somehow. managed to wrest a point from high-flying Sheffield United.

The portents were not good. Villa went behind after just eleven minutes when Sheffield's captain, Billy Sharp swooped in to score despite a desperate attempt by Tammy Abraham to clear off the line. Eight minutes into the second half Sharp scored a controversial second goal when he appeared to kick the ball from the hands of Villa keeper, Lovre Kalinic.  A header just after the hour sealed his hat-trick and all looked lost.

Cue our early departure. My son is learning disabled and he was growing increasingly uncomfortable as the crowd around us erupted in a barrage of swear-words, fans leaping up and down from their seats in pent-up frustration. He snapped his spectacles in half  and enough was enough.

So we didn't get to see the last minute fight-back - the goals by Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham and Andre Green. I was sad, not because we missed the goals, but because I had to take my son out so he could feel safe.