Aston Villa 1 Derby 1 - Report

Grabban slammed home his 20th goal of the season with just six minutes remaining, cancelling out Cameron Jerome's early opener for the visitors.

Both the on loan Bournemouth man and substitute Jonathan Kodjia had earlier hit the bar for the hosts.

Cardiff's win at Hull means Villa's hopes of a top two finish are now over, regardless of this result.

Analysis

Grabban's goal, his eighth in 14 appearances since joining in January, was the least Steve Bruce's team deserved from an entertaining encounter played in front of a packed Villa Park crowd, writes Matt Maher at Villa Park.

It was the home side who had exerted almost all of the pressure from the moment Jerome fired Derby into a 14th minute lead.

Grabban hit the bar in first-half stoppage time, while Kodjia did the same after coming off the bench in the second half,.

Conor Hourihane was also guilty of missing a superb chance to equalise before Grabban eventually brought the scores level.

The fact automatic promotion is no longer possible will be a source of disappointment, though in reality Bruce and his players have known their chances were slim for weeks.

If nothing else, the febrile atmosphere inside the ground as Villa pushed for parity in the second half whetted the appetite for the play-offs, where Bruce's men could well meet Derby again.

Villa’s team featured three changes from the one which won 4-0 at Ipswich Town the previous weekend.

That included a return for skipper John Terry after three games out with an ankle injury.

Top scorer Albert Adomah and Robert Snodgrass were also restored to the starting line-up, with Josh Onomah and Mile Jedinak dropping to the bench. Birkir Bjarnason missed out entirely due to a calf problem.

There was also a return to the matchday squad for Alan Hutton, though the Scot was only fit enough for a place on the bench after recovering from a hamstring problem.

Yet he would enter the fray inside 23 minutes, replacing Neil Taylor after the Wales international endured a torrid cameo which saw him at fault for Derby's opener before picking up an injury.

Former Villa striker Andreas Weimann had already been involved in some of the visitors' best moments, almost setting up Jerome inside the opening five minutes following a swift counter.

But he made a decisive contribution by harrying the dawdling Taylor, winning the ball and feeding Jerome to sweep a finish into the bottom corner on 14 minutes.

Taylor's day lasted only another nine minutes before he was replaced by Hutton.

Villa instantly appeared a more solid unit and Grabban should have equalised when he headed an inviting Adomah cross over the bar.

Visiting goalkeeper Scott Carson, another former Villa man in the visiting ranks, then denied Grealish with his legs at close range after the attacker had looked to finish a flowing move.

Derby - an Jerome in particular - always carried a threat and the striker should perhaps have doubled his team's advantage just past the half-hour mark but could only head Andre Wisdom's cross straight at Johnstone.

Villa kept probing with no joy before the break, though they came mighty close.

Bruce's men appealed in vain for a spot-kick when Alex Pearce appeared to handle an Elmohamady cross.

Then, as the game ticked into stoppage time, only the slightest touches from Curtis Davies prevented Grabban from converting Adomah's cross, before the striker glanced Elmohamady's cross off the top of the bar.

It was the visitors who had the first big chance of the second period, Johnstone saving down low from Tom Lawrence after the lively attacker had skipped past James Chester.

Bruce introduced Kodjia off the bench just prior to the hour mark and the striker's presence quickly caused problems, with Grealish whipping a shot over the bar.

The game was now being played almost entirely in Derby's half and the visitors were lucky to survive when Snodgrass's cross hit a defender and bobbled wide of the far post.

Seconds later, Hourihane was guilty of squandering a glorious chance when he miscued a volley, with the goal at his mercy, after Snodgrass's deflected header had fallen perfectly into his path.

Heading into the final 20 minutes, the game began to open up.

Hutton did brilliantly to recover and deny Weimann after the striker had been sent clear by Matej Vydra's delightful flick.

Almost immediately, Kodjia crashed a header against the bar at the other end as Derby's goal simply refused to be breached.

The breakthrough, when it finally arrived with six minutes remaining, did so in suitably scrappy fashion.

Carson's save from Hourihane's low shot sparked a scramble from which Grabban finally slammed home from close range.

Key Moments

14 - GOAL! Cameron Jerome fires the visitors in front, sweeping home after Neil Taylor is robbed by Andreas Weimann.

45 - OFF THE BAR! Lewis Grabban is inches away from bringing Villa level when he glances a header off the bar.

84 - GOAL! Grabban pulls Villa deservedly level from close range.

Teams

Villa (4-1-4-1): Johnstone, Elmohamady, Chester, Terry (c), Taylor (Hutton 23), Whelan (Onomah 81), Snodgrass, Grealish, Hourihane, Adomah (Kodjia 58), Grabban Subs not used: Jedinak, Lansbury, Onomah, Hogan, Bunn (gk).

Derby (3-4-3): Carson, Keogh, Davies, Pearce, Wisdom, Huddlestone, Johnson, Forsyth, Weimann (Palmer 80), Lawrence (Vydra 68), Jerome. Subs not used: Roos (gk), Olsson, Hanson, Ledley, Palmer, Nugent.