Villa start well with lots of promising attacks all of which sadly come to nothing. Opportunities are missed, shots go wide and crosses fail to find an attacker.
As half-time approaches it looks as if Villa will be frustrated but then Conor Hourihane lofts a lovely pass to Albert Adomah on the right. Adomah passes back to Ahmed Elmohamady who curls a lovely cross into the penalty area. And there's Anwar El Ghazi on hand to put the ball in the back of the net.
One nil, and the half-time whistle blows!
What a curious afternoon, it's like taking the red pill and descending with Alice to the very bottom of the rabbit hole that is Wonderland! We think we're arriving at Villa Park, but as the afternoon wears on it's clear we've landed in an alternative universe where the plucky boys in claret and blue are capable both of netting goals at regular intervals and defending their lead with considerable aplomb.
At the start of the game Middlesborough are four points above us in the table and in a play-off spot, but by the end the gap has narrowed to just one point. Goals by El Ghazi, McGinn and Adomah light up the afternoon whilst assured performances from a revitalised defence secure a third clean sheet from the last four games.
What a difference a week or two makes!!
We come with little by way of hope or expectation, our season effectively at an end following a run of miserable results. But then the rumours start. Jack Grealish might get a seat on the substitutes' bench after three months out with a shin injury. And then the shock revelation - not only is Super Jack starting, he's our captain!
The cheers are long and loud as the teams are announced and so to kick-off. Derby are a few places above us, but have lost their last three games. This could be a tight one.
We start well, pressing high up the pitch and putting together a string of well-placed passes. It comes as no surprise when we take the lead after just nine minutes. A beautifully flighted ball over the top from our newly installed captain is pounced on by Tammy Abraham. Scott Carson, former Villa keeper now in goal for Derby gets a hand on the ball, but it's not enough to prevent Conor Hourihane from scoring at close range.
Tammy Abraham is next on the score-sheet. That man, Hourihane, sends a delightful diagonal ball across the field to Ahmed Elmohamady. His super cross finds our star striker who nets his twenty first of the season.
The goal deluge continues. Hourihane nets his second courtesy of a pass from Abraham and then the pièce de résistance, two minutes into first half stoppage time. Glen Whelan sends in a great cross to Super Jack on the edge of the Derby penalty area. A sweetly hit volley into the top corner of the Derby goal and the crowd erupts in rapture!! Undoubtedly the finest first half performance this season for the Villa.
Whilst the second half lacks a goal Villa are relentless in attack. By the time the referee blows the final whistle the score could have been six or seven nil. An afternoon to remember at Villa Park, marred only by an injury to Tommy Elphick.
