Dean Smith bemoaned a lack of quality in the final third as Aston Villa lost 1-0 against Sheffield United.
The Villans had plenty of shots and territory versus the Blades, who played for 33 minutes with ten men after Phil Jagielka’s red card, but they failed to seriously test Aaron Ramsdale until stoppage time.
Ezri Konsa’s effort was blocked by the United ‘keeper as Villa’s chances of taking anything from the game evaporated, leaving Smith disappointed in the result.
He said: “It’s going to be a tough one to review. I thought we were ok first half without being brilliant. We had two good chances through John McGinn and Bert.
“They had a few chances, but it was a poor goal that we conceded. McGoldrick switches play on the halfway line and runs off the back of McGinn and Elmo doesn’t know he’s there, he tries to let the ball go out for a goal kick and you find yourself 1-0 down in a game where you feel you’re on top.
“I thought we started the second half really well; we were camped in their half for long periods and we moved the ball a lot quicker. The sending off gave us a big advantage and we didn’t take it.
“We looked like we wanted to score within the first five minutes of their player getting sent-off and I thought we put too many poor balls into the box.
“We lacked that little bit of quality that I expect with the players we’ve got.”
With a local matchup against Wolves taking place at Villa Park on Saturday, there’s little time for Smith to pick over the Bramall Lane loss.
And the head coach is targeting a swift response when Villa return to home turf.
“It feels like we’ve thrown away three points here – that’s the biggest disappointment,” he said.
“It’s a three-game week where you can pick up a lot of points if you’re putting the performances in.
“Saturday was a good performance and a good win. Today we gave away a soft goal and come away with nothing when we should have had a point at the least.
“We have to bounce back now. It’s a local derby and a chance to do the double over Wolves.”
