Tyrone Mings: ‘Honest’ Villa have got to learn quickly
Captain Tyrone Mings bemoaned ‘almost amateurish’ defending after Villa collapsed to derby defeat against Wolves.
Goals from Danny Ings and John McGinn appeared to have put Dean Smith’s men on course for a comfortable win at Villa Park.
But they were stung three times in the final 15 minutes as Wolves staged a stunning comeback.
Mings said: “It’s a tough one to take because we threw it away.
“We were controlling the game, 2-0 up with 15 minutes to go. To throw it away was almost amateurish.
“They are a great set of lads in there (the dressing room), honest as well. We have to learn quickly.”
Villa conceded from set pieces for the first time this season as Romain Saiss and then Conor Coady profited from the home side’s inability to clear their lines. Ruben Neves then got the winner, five minutes into stoppage time, with a free-kick which took a huge deflection off Matt Targett.
Mings continued: “They didn’t have to do too much for their goals which is probably why it is so disappointing.
“It is a game we were controlling and the manner of the goals hurts the most.
“We have been good at defending set pieces, second phase set pieces, all season. On Saturday we weren’t and they are a huge part of the game.
“We know how important they have been for our season in terms of picking up points. This time we dropped points from set pieces.”
Villa, beaten on their own turf for the first time this season, will get the chance to bounce back when they visit Arsenal on Friday.
Smith and his players were at Bodymoor Heath yesterday for a scheduled debrief, with much of the focus placed on the final chaotic 15 minutes.
The head coach and his staff, who appeared shell-shocked in the immediate aftermath, had already reviewed the footage within half-an-hour of Saturday’s final whistle as they began assessing precisely what had gone wrong.
Mings said: “We have to learn quickly because set pieces are so important. We can’t concede goals in the way we did.
“We have lads who want to learn and this will hurt, it does hurt everyone. We know what these kind of games mean to the fans and we know it will be hurting them as well.”
