This archive report was first published on 26 November 2019.
On Monday, Aston Villa secured a crucial 2-0 win over Newcastle United at home, moving them up two places to 15th in the Premier League table with 14 points from 13 games.
Conor Hourihane, an Ireland midfielder, played a pivotal role in the victory, scoring and setting up another goal with his exceptional free kicks.
Hourihane put Villa ahead in the 32nd minute, tapping a dead ball to Jack Grealish and unleashing a powerful shot that flummoxed Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Just four minutes later, Villa earned another set piece, and Hourihane again took responsibility, firing the ball into the heart of the penalty area where Anwar El Ghazi arrived to knock the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
El Ghazi had another opportunity to score later in the game, but his effort was ruled offside, while Villa should have extended their lead after the interval as Jack Grealish and John McGinn both came close.
Newcastle's only chance in an unambitious 45 minutes was a Federico Fernandez header, which was well saved by Tom Heaton.
The win snapped a three-game losing league run for Villa and took them four clear of the relegation zone. Newcastle are 14th on 15 points.
Hourihane reflected on the importance of the win, saying, 'It was important to get a good result because they haven’t been great in the past few games.'
He added, 'The squad doesn’t have much Premier League experience so we all have a point to prove.'
For Newcastle, coach Steve Bruce had a sour return to Villa Park, where he spent two years in charge and came close to leading them to promotion in the 2018 Championship playoff final.
However, his final game at home to Preston North End ended in a cabbage being thrown at him by a fan, an incident he has called one of the lowest points of his long coaching career.
Despite the lack of missiles this time, Bruce was unhappy with how his players approached the game, saying, 'In the first half, we didn’t do enough with or without the ball. We were harshly done by conceding the free kicks, but they were well executed and that made it very hard for us.'
He added, 'Within a few minutes, the game’s gone. Overall, it was a difficult evening for us.'
