Talk about leaving it to the last minute!!!
Villa go head-to-head with Watford in what's effectively a six-pointer. The two teams are hovering in or about the relegation zone with just one point separating them. This is a must-win for us.
The game starts promisingly with Villa commanding most of the possession. But wouldn't you know it - Watford's first real attack and up pops Villa nemesis, Troy Deeney to head home a fine cross. One nil down with half-time approaching.
After the break Villa open in positive fashion, pinning back the Hornets. A combination of dogged defence and blatant time-wasting tactics hold us at bay until at last substitute, Douglas Luiz finds the back of the Watford net and it's game on.
Villa continue to press but the clock's running down. We're five minutes into injury time as new keeper, Pepe Reina lofts a speculative free-kick high into Watford's box. Tyrone Mings gets on the end of it, he's tripped and the ball flies free to Ezri Konsa who fires home. We've won!!!
The goal is subsequently awarded to Mings, but who cares - it's a precious three points.
And so another season begins, but this time it's the Premier League - not the Championship.
Our opening game at Tottenham Hotspur sees us seize an early lead through a John McGinn goal as Villa put in an impressive first-half performance. But then Spurs pile on the pressure after the restart and sadly we leave 3 v 1 to the worse.
So now it's our first home game against Bournemouth and the excitement is palpable. The exterior of Villa Park has been smartened up with a fresh coat of paint, new badges and a huge photo on the North Stand that features Dean Smith and Jack Grealish clutching the Championship Play-Off Cup. Some things, however, remain the same. My son, Ben, makes a bee-line for the 'Bostin' Fish'n'Chips' stall and lunch is sorted.
It's buzzing inside the ground - a near sell-out crowd. The teams emerge to rapturous applause as the North Stand ticket-holders lift up a series of cards that come together in a giant AVFC mural. Sadly the feel-good factor doesn't last long. Tin Heaton, our new goal-keeper, concedes a penalty in the first minute. Joshua King steps up to the spot and before we know it we're one nil down.
Things go from bad to worse. A mistake by Douglas Luiz, our new mid-fielder, lets in Harry Wilson whose buzzing shot hits Tyrone Mings and deflects past the stranded Heaton. Twelve minutes in and two nil down.
The second-half is much more like it. Villa drive Bournemouth deep and a superb shot from Luiz sails into the back of the net. Sadly, despite attack after attack, Villa fall short. Two games, two defeats.
