Steve Bruce urges Aston Villa not to dream of Wembley after beating Boro - 7M sport

Steve Bruce urges Aston Villa not to dream of Wembley after beating Boro



Posted Sunday, May 13, 2018 by PA

Steve Bruce urges Aston Villa not to dream of Wembley after beating Boro

Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has warned his players not to start dreaming of Wembley despite taking a priceless lead into their Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final with Middlesbrough.

Mile Jedinak’s 15th-minute header at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday handed the Midlanders a 1-0 lead to take into the return leg at Villa Park on Tuesday, but Bruce is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “We are pleased. Listen, all the cliches are going to come out, aren’t they? Of course. We know the Championship is riddled with strange things.

“We have given ourselves a little advantage, a small advantage, but we’re winning 1-0 at half-time.”

Jedinak’s effort, as he glanced a Jack Grealish corner, ultimately won the day but it was Villa’s game-management, led by vastly-experienced skipper John Terry, which saw them home.

Only a fingertip save by Boro keeper Darren Randolph denied Robert Snodgrass a second goal.

Bruce said: “That would have been crucial. That was a great save. I think if that had gone in, it might have been all over.

“I made that decision to try to get experienced players in the door so they could handle what Aston Villa throws at them. I thought it was vitally important that they can handle Aston Villa.

“That was the reason for going for the experience of [Glenn] Whelan, [Ahmed] Elmohamady, John Terry, of course, Mile – they all handle playing under pressure for a big club.

“When you’re asking them to play in big semi-finals like tonight, then you need them to come to the party and, to a man, they did. I thought they were terrific.”

Villa’s effort to limit dangerman Adama Traore, who was largely curtailed by impressive full-back Alan Hutton, proved successful, but Boro manager Tony Pulis is confident the tie remains alive.

Pulis said: “Obviously, we’re disappointed. I thought we did enough not to lose the game today, but it’s small margins. The set-play is a disappointment, we’re disappointed they scored off that.

“Villa are in the ascendancy in the tie. I can’t hide the fact, going to Villa Park in front of a full-house, it gives them an advantage.

“But there’s still 90 minutes to play and anything can happen in 90 minutes.

“There were times today where Adama had good patches and good spells. He’s a terrific player, he’s got fantastic talent and, on his day, he can do things.

“But we had other players today who played well as well and sometimes that fact is hidden because of Adama’s rise to fame, if anything.”

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