Tyrone Mings’s last-gasp winner lifted Aston Villa out of the relegation zone and ended Watford’s revival in dramatic style. The defender grabbed a fortunate deflection on Ezri Konsa’s shot in the fifth minute of stoppage time with virtually the last touch of the game to snatch victory.
Douglas Luiz had earlier come off the bench to level in the second half, just as Villa looked like they would be plunged into further trouble. That cancelled out Troy Deeney’s opener as Watford’s six-match unbeaten run in the league was ended.
Villa’s third victory in 11 Premier League outings moved them up to 16th and two points clear of the teams in the relegation zone, while Watford slipped back into the bottom three.
“We have to keep concentrating on the next game. The next one in the Premier League is against Bournemouth, another team below us,” said the Villa manager, Dean Smith.
“Catching the teams above you and overtaking them, that’s the players’ job at the moment. Teams of mine finish the season better and I’m expecting a better points haul in the second half.
“It’s the biggest win at this moment because it’s the latest one. We have to concentrate on each game. With Watford being around us and giving us a good hiding at their place I said before the game it would be a different Villa team they faced. It was an important one because Villa Park is an important place for us in this league.”
The defeat put a dent in Watford’s revival, Nigel Pearson having hauled them off the bottom of the table. They looked like continuing their run when Deeney gave them the lead seven minutes before the break, heading in Gerard Deulofeu’s cross.
Pepe Reina’s save denied Deeney a second after the break and Douglas Luiz levelled after 68 minutes, following up after Ben Foster parried Matt Targett’s shot.
Villa snatched victory in injury time when, after Watford failed to deal with a deep free-kick, the ball ran to Konsa and his strike clipped Mings on the ground and found the corner.
Konsa had the news broken to him on live television that he was not to be credited with the goal. He joked he was “heartbroken”, while Mings added: “The three points is the most important thing but once you’ve got the three points, it’s also nice to score!”
Watford are now second bottom, in the relegation zone on goal difference, but Pearson kept defeat in perspective. “I think we’re a bit unlucky but that’s life and we’ll deal with it,” he said. “It’s easy to reflect on performances when things go your way, we’ve been a bit unlucky.
“Tonight is a disappointing situation, the players have shown an incredible amount of resolve and commitment to get the right results. It’s not always going to be a positive outcome and providing the players always show the right intent in games and show commitment then that’s going to be the most important thing moving forward.”
