Rotherham 1 Aston Villa 2 - Report and pictures

A goal down and a man down at half-time, Villa’s charge up the Championship looked to have firmly hit the buffers in Rotherham.

Yet Dean Smith’s men simply refuse to be stopped and their seventh straight win, which further cemented their place in the top six, was also their most impressive of the season.

Two goals in the space of three minutes early in the second half turned a tide which, in the opening period, seemed to be running against Villa, when Tammy Abraham missed an early penalty and Tyrone Mings was then sent-off.

The defender was shown first yellow card for an off the ball challenge on Will Vaulks, before being shown a second by referee Andrew Madley for handball, conceding the penalty from which Vaulks put the Millers ahead.

At that point Villa were staring down the barrel yet somehow, again, they found a route victory.

Jonathan Kodjia equalised from the spot three minutes into the second half, before Jack Grealish finished a brilliant team move to put them ahead.

Even more impressive was the manner in which Villa, despite having one less player on the pitch, then saw the game out in a controlled manner, with John McGinn in particular excelling.

Victory put them back up into fifth in the table above Bristol City, who visit Villa Park on Saturday.

The hosts will be without Mings for that game but on this evidence, you wonder whether it really matters. Nothing and no-one seems capable of stopping Villa at the moment.

As expected Smith took the option to refresh his starting line-up. There were three changes in total from the team which started Saturday’s 3-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday.

Axel Tuanzebe was handed his first start since December in place of Kortney Hause, the latter having failed to recover from the hip injury sustained at Hillsborough.

Albert Adomah was, meanwhile, rewarded with his part in the late heroics against Wednesday with his first start for a month.

The winger replaced Andre Green, with Conor Hourihane coming in for Glenn Whelan in Villa’s other change.

Both teams had looked bright in attack before, on 12 minutes, Villa got a golden chance to take the lead. Neat build-up play sent Grealish racing into the box and he was sent tumbling by the challenge of Clark Robertson.

Abraham had scored all four of his previous spot-kicks this season but this time was unable to find the net, Marek Rodak diving to his left to keep out a shot which lacked conviction.

The importance of that moment would only become clearer as the half wore on.

If Mings’s second booking was debatable, the first was needless as he tripped up Vaulks off the ball.

The centre-back then attempted to cut out Joe Newell’s cross with his chest but misjudged it and the ball hit his hand, referee Madley eventually awarding the penalty after a few seconds thought, before producing a yellow card and then the red.

Villa keeper Jed Steer had been a hero last weekend, saving Steven Fletcher’s penalty at Sheffield Wednesday.

But he was given no chance by Vaulks, who smashed his spot-kick straight down the middle.

Madley and the officials were now the centre of attention and Smith was left fuming when the assistant allowed play to go on despite two Rotherham players appearing to be offside, Steer saving at the feet of Michael Smith.

The Villa boss found his own name going into the book, after taking one too many trips across to see the fourth official.

Villa reached the break having avoided any further damage and having had the chance to regroup, emerged for the second half a different animal.

Smith’s decision to introduce Kodjia for the ineffective Anwar El Ghazi paid almost instant dividends as the striker levelled from the spot within three minutes of the restart.

Grealish, who had already tested Rodak with a shot from distance, played the ball out to Ahmed Elmohamady and when his cross came in Ajayi blocked with his arm.

Kodjia blasted the spot-kick high into the roof of the net for his first goal since December.

Three minutes later Villa with ahead thanks to a brilliantly worked move. Grealish was involved throughout, flicking the ball out to Neil Taylor before taking the return pass, racing to the edge of the box and again finding Elmohamady. The Egyptian had the option to shoot but instead pulled the ball back for Grealish, who swept the ball beyond Rodak to spark pandemonium among the travelling support.

Rotherham looked understandably rattled but with the man advantage were still very much in the match and it required a fine one-handed save from Steer to prevent Newell levelling the scores.

The wideman also whipped a free-kick just wide of the post as the game entered the final 20 minutes, before the Millers came within inches of an equaliser when Taylor’s shot from the edge of the box hit Jedinak, brought on to replace Mings, and flew inches over the bar.

Yet Villa weren’t exactly sitting back and it took a fine save from Rodak to keep out a well-struck Hourihane effort and keep his team in the game.

The Millers could not rally themselves in the closing stages and it was Villa who looked the more likely to score again, Kodjia shooting just over in stoppage time.

Teams

Rotherham (4-3-3): Rodak, Jones, Ihiekwe (Vassell 77), Robertson, Vyner, Vaulks, Ajayi, Towell (Wiles 68), Taylor (Williams 84), Smith, Newell Subs not used: Wood, Forde, Crooks, Price (gk).

Villa (4-3-3): Steer, Elmohamady, Tuanzebe, Mings, Taylor, McGinn, Hourihane, Grealish (Whelan 90+3), Adomah (Jedinak 36), Abraham, El Ghazi (Kodjia HT) Subs not used: Lansbury, Davis, Green, Sarkic (gk).