Tim Sherwood clasped his hands together and made a silent prayer to God for a winner at Villa Park last night, as the minutes ticked down towards the end of the game. Minutes later his wishes were granted as Ben Foster had a moment of madness to present Villa with an unexpected penalty.
Belgian striker Christian Benteke stepped up, stopped briefly in his run up and sent the partially bleeding keeper the wrong way from the spot. Villa fans went delirious as their team ended a shocking run of 13 Premier League matches without a win, a disastrous run that has plunged them deep into the relegation battle.
Their victory lifted them out of the bottom three, although the 'reprieve' may only be temporary, as the teams below them have games in hand.
Villa were by far the better team in the first half, finding renewed energy in comparison to recent weeks, with Gabby Agbonlahor in particular seemingly back to his lively best, terrorising the Baggies' defence. He scored once on 22 minutes and also saw another shot cleared off the line by Joleon Lescott, as Foster looked to bring Agbonlahor down as the ball trickled past him towards the line. It was a welcome return to form for the former England international, ending his 14-game run without finding the net. His goal owed much to the power of Benteke, as he flicked on the ball for his strike partner to outpace the defence and beat Foster.
The home side maybe should have added two or three more in the first period, as they hit the post in injury-time from Fabian Delph and had a shot saved by Foster from Agbonlahor, with at least three-quarters of the ball over the line. Goal line technology saved West Brom on that occasion, confirming 'no goal' to the officials.
The second-half saw West Brom come far more into the contest. They had already squandered a presentable headed chance in the area by Craig Dawson, when the predatory instincts of rising star Saido Berahino took over. A delicious corner from Chris Brunt on 66 minutes was headed across goal by Lescott to find Berahino, somehow in space in the six-yard box, and he headed in the equalizer.
It gave the England under-21 star his 18th goal of a highly productive season in the process.
Then as they entered injury time, Foster seemed a man on a mission as he firstly flapped at a cross and then chased after the ball, only to bring Matthew Lowton down. He knew he was at fault, but Sherwood just thanked his lucky stars, as his Belgian striker converted the chance in style!
