Villa Blog: Bruce's renaissance continues against Cardiff
The renaissance for Villa continued on Saturday with a hard fought win over an improving Cardiff city side under the guidance now of experienced manager Neil Warnock. And to be honest I didn't expect anything different.
This was the type of game that we'd have probably lost before Steve Bruce was in charge, writes Justin Hawthorne.
Villa started slowly in the first half, with Cardiff having a few set pieces in the opening minutes creating an air of caution around Villa Park.
If Bruce's men didn't know what to expect before the game then following Icelandic midfielder Aron Gunnarsson's hurled ball into the box which was headed narrowly over, they soon did.
However, as the half ticked by Villa started to gain more possession and with their dynamic front four soon began to create chances.
Sure enough just ahead of the half hour Cardiff were undone when the rampaging Jordan Amavi, who is getting better and better as the weeks go on, cut inside the box and found the unmarked Albert Adomah at the far post for his first villa goal.
Unfortunately, all that good work didn't keep Villa in control for long, after Ashley Westwood's mistake on the edge of the box led to Rickie Lambert's equaliser.
But the lads didn't drop their heads, with Jordan Ayew's attacking run feeding Adomah, who lifted the ball to the far post for the ever-impressive Jonathan Kodjia to head home.
After the break Villa saw the reintroduction of club captain Tommy Elphick after Nathan Baker was forced off. Neil Warnock had undoubtedly fired up his players during the break with Cardiff quickly asserting their physicality on the game, eventually dropping them to ten men after Lee Peltier's dismissal.
With Cardiff a man down, Bruce's men were firmly in the driving seat and it was simply a matter of time before they confirmed the result.
Both Gabby Agbonlahor and Kodjia missed good chances before Jack Grealish was brought down in the box leaving referee Geoff Eltringham with little choice other than to point to the spot.
Surprisingly, it was Rudy Gestede who stepped up to roll home capping off a convincing 3-1 win. But it didn't tell the whole story of the game as Villa were made to work hard at times before easing home.
Whilst the win doesn't see Villa jump up too many spots in the table, they're now just three points and a couple of weeks away from the top 6 if they can continue their run.
You never know, Villa fans might even see automatic promotion become a true reality if this continues.
