After winning three games on the trot, comprising of wins against Derby County, Bristol City and Rotherham United, Aston Villa have had to face the gruesome effects of a loss once again after quite a while as they were undone by Huddersfield Town on Wednesday who effected a 1-0 win at John Smith’s Stadium but Steve Bruce’s outfit have finally started to make a move in the right direction.
Out of the blue, their main men have started to fire and the continuation of such stellar outings holds paramount importance to ensure that the Villans register a strong finish to the ongoing campaign in the second tier of English football.
To cater to the needs of the club, one of the players who has stepped up is Conor Hourihane. The 26-year-old had collected 6 goals and 11 assists in 25 games for Barnsley before making a move to the Villa Park in the January transfer window, which reunited him with his former Sunderland manager, Bruce.
Intriguingly, his life at Aston Villa didn’t kick off in the most fascinating of manners but he has started to thrive of late and has been one of the main reasons for a sudden uplift in the form of the Claret and Blue Army.
The 26-year-old midfielder was omnipresent in his side’s wins and not to overlook the fact that he did play his part pretty well in delivering juicy crosses and bringing attacking flamboyance up front to aid the strikers in their loss at the hands of David Wagner’s side.
One of the many things which are lovely to see from him is that he gets into dangerous positions and keeps his calm which helps in increasing his productivity. He scores, assists and it is seemingly likely that Aston Villa have finally laid their hands on a serial goal-getting/creating midfielder.
With a promotion appearing to be a far cry for Bruce at the moment, he needs a strong resurrection to instil a sense of winning mentality in his ranks, which would come in handy next season. In Hourihane, they have someone who can pull off sensational flicks, make precise and clever passes and has the hunger to excel: which were barely available with the Villans last season as well as in the first half of this season.
He is effective on both ends, acts as a lynchpin between attack and defence and is always inclined to hit the opponents’ weak links. There is a lot of hope resting on the shoulders of the Irishman and he could definitely be the face of the Villa Park-based outfit in times to come.
