The new Aston Villa boss followed up a first win of his stewardship over rivals West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday night with an FA Cup victory on Saturday evening which will see him lead his team out at Wembley in next month’s FA Cup Semi-Final.
Aston Villa 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
The FA Cup
Sixth Round
Saturday 7 March 2015
Villa Park, Aston Villa
Winners receive £360,000
The cherry on the icing of that cake for all Villa fans will, of course, be that the victory which secured a trip to the national stadium also came against their bitter rivals.
West Brom, for their part, will probably be wondering how they aren’t plotting a trip to the capital after a dominant first-half display but sadly for the Baggies, profligacy was the order of the day.
Albion had been guilty of a slow start when the two teams met in the Premier League four days ago but the Baggies had clearly learned from that mistake as Pulis’ men shot out of the blocks in this one.
Saido Berahino forced a good low save from Shay Given in the sixth minute, after Craig Gardner’s determination and vision had created the opportunity.
Sherwood has led Villa to two wins over West Brom this week
Then a guilt-edge opportunity for Berahino’s strike partner Brown Ideye, with Gardner again the creator as he fizzed an inviting ball across the 6-yard box but Ideye’s RSVP came back negative as he skied over.
Villa were having as much of the ball as their opponents but the home side were offering little in the way of end product.
The Baggies, on the other hand, were looking dangerous every time they ventured forward and Given was called into action twice more before the break.
First the former Republic of Ireland stopper saved a downward header from Ideye before proving that his 38 years had not caused any decrease in his agility as he back peddled to tip over Chris Brunt’s deflected effort.
It took Villa until the last minute of the half to offer a meaningful threat on the Albion goal, Scott Sinclair scampering clear of numerous Albion challenges only to see his low cross turned into Boaz Myhill’s arms by Jonas Olsson.
In Aston Villa’s last FA Cup tie against Leicester City, Sherwood was credited with delivering half-time words of wisdom which brought about a change in the home side’s fortunes and it appears to be a talent he is blessed with as his side emerged for the second period of this game with renewed vigour.
In the 51st minute, Charles N’Zogbia collected the ball on the half-way line and raced at the Albion defence who appeared a collective cat caught in the headlights.
Villa 'keeper Shay Given celebrates Delph's opener
The Frenchman delighted in the grass opening up before him and carried the ball to the edge of the Albion box before feeding Fabian Delph who crashed the ball past Myhill.
It is often said that you’re at your most vulnerable just after you’ve scored and Villa almost lived up to that.
Six minutes later, Gardner’s corner made it all the way across to Joleon Lescott who looked like he had a simple task to restore parity but somehow he headed wide.
Berahino was next to try his luck as clever play between Gardner and Ideye set him away but Given was alive to the danger and blocked his shot.
That flurry of activity from the Baggies may have given their fans hope of a comeback but such a rally was short lived and soon Villa were in the ascendancy once more.
Former Albion loanee Sinclair raced clear of the Baggies’ defence only to curl wide, a moment which prove a warning for things to come.
Albion were not really looking like conjuring an equaliser but any slim hopes they did have of getting back into the game effectively evaporated when, with ten minutes to play, Claudio Yacob was dismissed for a second booking following a challenge on Leandro Bacuna.
Villa's Tom Cleverley and West Brom's James Morrison compete for the ball
And things went from bad to worse for the away side.
As Albion desperately pushed for an equaliser, Villa broke and Sinclair rubbed salt in Albion wounds with a superbly taken second.
A slight blemish for Villa was the dismissal of sub Jack Grealish in injury time, but given the ecstatic reaction of the Villa fans at the final whistle it will take far more than that to wipe the smiles off their faces.
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Shay Given, Matt Lowton, Jores Okore, Ciaran Clark, Leandro Bacuna, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Westwood, Fabian Delph (c) Scott Sinclair, Charles N’Zogbia, Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Substitutes: Carlos Sanchez for Tom Cleverley 65, Jack Grealish for Charles N’Zogbia 74, Carles Gil for Gabriel Agbonlahor 89
Subs not used: Brad Guzan, Andreas Weimann, Lewis Kinsella, Riccardo Calder.
Bookings: N’Zogbia 14, Agbonlahor 59, Grealish 87, 90
Red Card: Grealish 90
Goals: Delph 51, Sinclair 85
West Bromwich Albion (5-3-2): Boaz Myhill, Craig Dawson, Gareth McAuley, Joleon Lescott, Jonas Olsson, Chris Brunt, James Morrison, Claudio Yacob, Craig Gardner, Saido Berahino, Brown Ideye
Substitutes: Calum McManaman for Jonas Olsson 68, Youssouf Mulumbu for Craig Gardner 85
Subs not used: Ben Foster, Andre Wisdom, Sebatian Pocognoli, Chris Baird, Stephane Sessegnon
Bookings: Dawson 54, Yacob 76
Red Card: Yacob 80
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Attendance: 39,592
