Aston Villa v Wolves: When Tommy Johnson shot down the Molineux men

“If anything, you would say I hit it too well,” he chuckles down the phone line, recalling the decisive moment from the last League Cup encounter between Villa and Wolves, writes Matt Maher.

It was January 10, 1996 and for 65 minutes a Villa team riding high in the Premier League had been mostly second best, in a quarter-final tie against a Wolves team struggling at the wrong end of Division One and still searching for a first win under new manager, Mark McGhee.

The nearest either team had come to breaking the deadlock was a Don Goodman shot which hit the base of the post.

Then a long kick forward from Mark Bosnich eventually falls into the path of Dwight Yorke, who sprays a pass which perfectly meets the run of Gary Charles, racing into the right-hand side of the box.

When the latter hits a first-time cross into the middle, Wolves keeper Mike Stowell is stranded at the near post and Johnson, arriving at the edge of the six-yard box, looks certain to score even though he has to lunge forward to meet the ball.

He does – but only after striking the ball straight at Stowell – who can’t react in time and can only watch as the ball flies off his leg and into the net for the only goal of the night.

“If I had sliced the finish, it probably goes straight into the net,” says Johnson. “It probably wasn’t the tidiest goal I ever scored but they all count!”

Few would argue with that assessment. Yet in terms of importance, Johnson arguably scored none greater during his two-and-a-bit years in claret and blue.

Barely two months later, Brian Little’s Villa would be lifting the trophy at Wembley, having edged past Arsenal on away goals and then emphatically dispatched Leeds in the final. More than two decades on, it remains the club’s last major honour.

“It was a special time at a special club, probably one of the best times in my career,” Johnson, who was an unused substitute in the final having picked up an untimely injury in the build-up, recalls of a season in which Villa also finished fourth in the league and reached an FA Cup semi-final.

“We had a great blend of experienced players and young lads. The gaffer had a certain way he wanted us to play and it all clicked.

“There was Dwight Yorke and Savo Milosevic up front, while the gaffer wanted me to play as a No.10 behind them. I absolutely loved it. I had joined from Derby at the start of 1995 and if I am being honest, I probably didn’t handle the step up as well as I would have liked immediately.

“But that summer the gaffer changed a few things around and we were absolutely flying.

“I would not say I was ever the most gifted of footballers but I think people appreciated the work I put in.”

Johnson’s honest and hard-working approach to the game made him a popular player with supporters and the respect remains very much mutual.

His goal against Wolves has cropped up in several conversations in the build-up to tonight’s game (he was sent a video clip of it shortly after the draw was made) and he remains in contact with many of his former team-mates.

“I still love going back, even now,” he says. “So many of the staff from behind the scenes are still at the club.

“I still speak to Ian Taylor all the time and I’m good mates with Mark Draper. I speak to the gaffer (Little) a lot too.”

Johnson, recently named head of recruitment at Blackpool, believes Villa are in safe hands with Dean Smith, a man he first encountered more than 30 years ago at the start of their playing careers.

“I played against him in the Midland Youth League for Notts County, when he was at Walsall,” says Johnson.

“He’s done superbly, first at Walsall, then Brentford and now Villa.

“He’s got a great coaching staff behind him and everything is geared up for them to do really well.”

Tonight he is hoping Smith can mastermind a victory over Wolves and take another step toward emulating the class of ‘96.

“It’s a massive game,” he said.

“There will be a full house and a terrific atmosphere, just like there was when we played them 23 years ago.

“People will talk about how the rivalry isn’t quite so intense as when Villa play Blues or Albion.

“But when I was at Villa we didn’t play either of them because they were in lower divisions.

“The Wolves game was the only derby game I was involved in during my time at the club.

“This competition is a huge chance for both clubs and I hope Villa can get the result.

“Teams tend to change things around for the cup and you can understand why that is as staying in the league is so important.

“But if Villa can win tonight and they are in the last eight and then who knows what can happen? All it takes is a couple of decent draws

“Why can’t they go on and win it? For a club like Villa, 23 years is already a long time to wait for a trophy.”