Analysis: Danny Ings home debut goal for the ages gets Aston Villa up and running

But the striker’s home debut goal for the ages in Saturday’s win against Newcastle did at least kickstart that process, while helping Dean Smith’s team finally get their season up and running at the second attempt.

Before Ings flung himself into the air to redirect Tyrone Mings’ flicked header beyond goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and into the top corner of the net, Villa as an attacking force had largely huffed and puffed their way through one-and-a-half matches, showing no shortage of endeavour but lacking the inspiration the departed Grealish was so good at providing.

In an instant, Ings changed the mood, bringing the first capacity crowd at Villa Park for more than 18 months to life. Villa’s performance after his opener was far from perfect and they still needed a little assistance from VAR, at both ends of the pitch, in order to complete the win. But it was still markedly improved on what they had served up at Watford a week previously and while they retain the look of a work in progress, it is always better to iron out the creases after a victory.

Though the campaign has barely begun, Villa went into the match under a little pressure after a disrupted pre-season had been followed by the largely dire outing at Vicarage Road. When Leon Bailey joined Bertrand Traore and Ollie Watkins on the treatment table pre-match, Smith found himself without an attacking trio who will likely start many matches together this season.

Lucky then, that Ings has wasted no time finding his feet. This was the third match he has played since joining Villa in a £25million move from Southampton and he has scored in all of them. Yet no matter how many goals nets during his time at the club, it will require something special to top Saturday’s. Not since Luc Nilis more than two decades ago has a debutant striker announced themselves in such stunning fashion at Villa Park.

Ings was not the only player in claret and blue to deliver a statement against the Magpies. For midfielder Jacob Ramsey, Saturday represented a coming of age. The 20-year-old went into the match with 23 Premier League appearances already to his name but in none of those had he looked quite so at home.

Always looking to get forward in possession, Ramsey’s running provided Villa with the energy lacking at Watford. Alongside an excellent performance from John McGinn and a lively outing from the returning Douglas Luiz, it ensured Smith’s team a far greater grip on proceedings.

Watching Ramsey’s performance, it was perhaps easier to understand why the head coach has played down the talk of further midfield reinforcements before the end of the transfer window. Neither was the significance of a homegrown youngster playing so impressively in the first home match since the departure of the club’s most prized academy product lost on the Holte End. One hometown hero might have departed but there is already another to cheer.

It was Ramsey who won the free-kick from which, eventually, Villa were awarded the penalty from which Anwar El Ghazi doubled their advantage just past the hour mark.

Newcastle boss Steve Bruce unsurprisingly took umbrage with VAR’s intervention but while it was true there were few appeals when Mings’ header hit Jamal Lascelles’ arm, the final decision was nevertheless correct. The marginal offside call which later chalked off a Newcastle penalty after Callum Wilson had been clattered by Emi Martinez was more egregious but similarly taken in line with the laws.

Wilson had missed a glorious chance to put the Magpies ahead when he went through on goal in the fifth minute but that moment and Martinez’s rush of blood to the head aside, Villa were dogged and organised in defence.

By the same token, they would doubtless have preferred to cause Woodman more exertion. Save from twice picking the ball out of the net, the Newcastle keeper was rarely called into action. While another coolly taken spot-kick elevated El Ghazi’s day, it was another quiet outing for Emi Buendia, the record signing who is still waiting for his Villa career to spark.

The Argentine showed no shortage of endeavour and was always on hand to assist Matty Cash with defensive work when required. But in the attacking third he appears to be lacking a little sharpness.

That should come with time, just as Villa should improve when Bailey, Traore and Watkins are fit, firing and added to the offensive mix.

Follow up Saturday’s win by beating Brentford next weekend and it would represent a more than acceptable start for a team who should only get better.