Matty Cash’s first Villa goal really is the stuff of dreams

The wing-back set Dean Smith’s on their way to a 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday when he emphatically finished off a fine team move.

It was the 24-year-old’s first Villa goal in his 33rd appearance for the club and he later claimed to have received a premonition the previous night.

Cash explained: “It’s actually what I dreamed of on Friday night.

“It was an unbelievable moment for me, scoring my first goal at Villa Park in front of the Holte End. I need to keep dreaming like that!

“It was one of those dreams where you can’t quite remember exactly what happened. But I know I scored.

“The ground was rocking and it was a great three points as well, which was more important.”

Smith’s decision to field a three-man defence gave Cash more licence to get forward and he continued: “I just keep trying to work on getting forward. As a modern-day full-back you get in these positions quite a lot.

“So yeah, it was nice to get there and actually put it in the top corner!

“Obviously Everton are a really good side. We know they are quality, we watched them during the week and we’ve seen previous stuff and they counter-attack really well.

“So it was important to get the other side of the game right and I thought we did that really well with a nice clean sheet.”

Cash’s goal was the first of three in nine minutes for Villa as the Toffees were dispatched in devastating fashion, Lucas Digne putting through his own net before Leon Bailey rounded things off with a stunning strike.

The victory was Villa’s second of the season and after an opening month hampered by injuries and international call-ups, boss Smith believes his team are starting to hit their stride.

“We’ve had such a testing time with injuries, covid and all different kinds of situations that all clubs have,” he said.

“We had to deal with that and got to the international break. Then we had players coming back to health and I thought we were really good last week (at Chelsea).

“It was an unjust scoreline but a really good performance that set a standard for us. I think Saturday was an unjust scoreline for Everotn but we played well and took our chances when we could.”