Aston Villa 2 Norwich 0 - Report

Visiting boss Smith was given a rapturous reception on his first return to Villa Park since being sacked last November but this was ultimately a day he will want to forget.

Watkins’ 41st minute strike and Ings’ goal deep in stoppage time condemned the Canaries to the Championship next season.

For his successor, Steven Gerrard, this was a timely victory which erased any lingering fears Villa might be dragged back into a relegation scrap.

Analysis

The win puts Villa 11 points clear of Everton and ensured their chances of a top-10 finish remain very much alive heading into the final five matches.

In truth their performance wasn’t wholly convincing and lacked momentum until Ings was introduced for Leon Bailey when the winger, who had earlier hit the post, sustained injury. Within seconds he had set up Watkins for the opener and Norwich never seriously looked like getting back into the match from that point.

Ings also hit the post in the second half before putting the result beyond any doubt late on. Against a better team, Villa might have paid the price for failing to take their chances.

Gerrard’s team selection featured three changes of which the inclusion of 18-year-old Tim Iroegbunam for his full Premier League debut was perhaps the least surprising.

The presence of Lucas Digne fewer than three weeks on from collarbone surgery was certainly unexpected, while the return of Calum Chambers to central defence, in place of Ezri Konsa, was an intriguing call one week on from a clean sheet at Leicester.

Digne’s delivery from out wide set up Villa’s first two chances of the match. The first was from a corner which Watkins turned well over the bar, before a cross from the left was headed straight at Tim Krul by Matty Cash arriving at the far post.

Norwich were struggling to make much headway and when they did Pierre Lees-Melous was guilty of wasting a good opening, firing well wide when in space on the edge of the box.

It was Villa looking the more likely and only a fine one-handed save from Krul prevented Bailey from breaking the deadlock, the keeper tipping the winger’s curling shot onto the bar.

Opposite number Emi Martinez hadn’t been troubled to that point but soon was as Milot Rashica let fly from 25 yards and the Villa No.1 saved flying to his right.

The home side were beginning to lose momentum and it was ultimately misfortune for Bailey which helped to spark them.

Injured in a tackle with Brandon Williams early in the half, the Jamaica international was eventually forced off on the 40-minute mark. His replacement, Ings – mistakenly announced onto the pitch as Emi Buendia to the amusement of the visiting supporters – needed only seconds to make an impact, finding Watkins with a ball over the top. With just Sam Byram to beat, the striker made room for a shot which took a deflection off the defender to give Krul no chance.

The roar around Villa Park felt more like one of relief yet the hosts might have been pegged back before the break, Williams heading over from close range after Grant Hanley had knocked down a free-kick.

Ings was quickly into the thick of the action early in the second half. Only fine defensive work from Byram prevented the striker from converting after he had latched on to Watkins’ looped ball over the top. From the corner, Ings sent a glancing header off the far post with Iroegbunam hammering the rebound over.

Philippe Coutinho, relatively quiet in the first half, was becoming more of a factor in the game and when he found Watkins with a neat ball over the top the striker sent a shot into the side-netting.

Norwich were threatening only sporadically and struggling to make much of the openings they did create, Lees-Melou shooting straight at Martinez from just inside the box.

Yet Villa had also failed to continue their momentum and as the pace of the game slowed, so the visitors began to push forward.

But they failed to carve out a clear-cut chance with Ings putting the seal on Villa’s win when he fired home late on after Krul had denied Jacob Ramsey.

Key Moments

41 GOAL Danny Ings, on the pitch for mere seconds, finds Watkins with a ball over the top. The striker makes room for a shot which takes a deflection off Sam Byram and loops over Tim Krul.

90+3 Ings fires home on the turn after Krul denies Jacob Ramsey.

Teams:

Villa (4-3-3): Martinez, Cash, Chambers, Mings, Digne, McGinn, Iroegbunam (Luiz 73), Ramsey, Bailey, Watkins, Coutinho (Buendia 76) Subs not used: Konsa, Traore, Young, Nakamba, Ings, Chukwuemeka, Olsen (gk).

Norwich (4-2-3-1): Krul, Byram, Hanley, Byram, Williams, Normann, McLean, Dowell, Lees-Melou (Sargent 67 (Rupp 81)), Rashica (Rowe 77), Pukki Subs not used: Gibson, Gilmour, Placheta, Sorensen, Giannoulis, Gunn (gk).