Steve Bruce pays tribute to hardy Aston Villa travelling fans after long sought victory
Delighted boss Steve Bruce paid tribute to Villa's supporters after the club's away day despair finally ended with victory at Reading.
Substitute Jordan Ayew's 90th minute penalty earned Villa a 2-1 win at the Madjeski Stadium last night, their first victory on the road since August 2015.
The visitors were roared on by 4,030 travelling fans and Bruce reckoned their support helped "breathe life" into his players during the final minutes of the match.
A Yann Kermorgant goal had earlier cancelled out Jonathan Kodjia's opener for Villa and the game had looked destined for a draw before the late drama.
And Bruce said: "You have to pay tribute to the supporters. They have travelled down here in their thousands and I think they breathed life into the lads.
"They (the players) have had a tough time, you have to restore a bit of belief. That is all we have done. It's nice to win in the last minute.
"To be fair to the previous management they have lost a lot of points in the last minute. If they hadn't have done I would not be sitting here today. That is football. It's the way it is."
The only sore point for the Villa boss was the loss of Jack Grealish. The 21-year-old has been banned for three matches - including last night's - after being charged with violent conduct by the FA for a stamp on Wolves midfielder Conor Coady.
Bruce confirmed he would be speaking to the player but added: "I thought he was a little bit unlucky. I didn't think it was that bad. Others have seen it in a different way.
"We all know the ability he has but you need more than just ability to go and survive at the top level these days.
"Especially with the spotlight which is on every player. Jack has been talked about for the wrong reasons too often. I think he is a little bit unfortunate in this case."
