Aston Villa scraped through their opening match in the EFL Cup after a less than convincing 1-0 win against Yeovil Town.
Rushian Hepburn-Murphy started for Villa, even though the striker has never scored a senior goal and that showed in his performance.
Villa looked unsure what to do going forward and looked to Hepburn-Murphy as a target man – a role he didn’t appear comfortable playing.
The striker was hauled off in the 58th minute and many fans shared their concerns about the 6ft 1in striker.
One fan questioned Steve Bruce’s tactics of playing Hepburn-Murphy as a target man and another suggested he needed a strike partener to influence the game.
Other fans provided less constructive criticism and said exactly what they thought of the young forward’s performance.
Here are the best reactions from Villa fans to Hepburn-Murphy’s display:
https://twitter.com/TomBrownn_/status/1029457389794324481
https://twitter.com/adroberts_adam/status/1029457156842639360
You'd think Bruce would have figured out, after all these years of management, that lumping the ball to a small striker, I e Hepburn-Murphy/Hogan, just doesn't work, ever…#AVFC
— Heart Of The Holte (@HeartOfTheHolte) August 14, 2018
Hepburn Murphy needs a strike partner
— Jake (@NooneAVFC) August 14, 2018
Pumping high balls to Hepburn Murphy is pointless he is about 4 foot tall against 2 giants, Bruce should get a grip.
— Yippee Aye-Aye (@YippeeAyeAye) August 14, 2018
Hepburn-murphy so far has been utter dog smear when hes eventually had the ball gizzer couldnt trap a bag of cement! #avfc
— MrT (@taybag21) August 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/Zibbygoals/status/1029451422042128384
Hepburn-Murphy so clearly talented, obvious for all to see, but tonight his strengths have been masked by poor tactics. Need him running in behind the opposition back 4, which is where the likes of McGinn's passing comes in massive use. #AVFC
— Heart Of The Holte (@HeartOfTheHolte) August 14, 2018
OPINION
The young striker didn’t get much assistance from those around him but what few chances he did get he didn’t take. Early on Hepburn-Murphy scuffed a shot and the chance was lost, this summed up his performance, just not quite good enough. This is the sort of opposition who the Birmingham born forward should have thrived against but it just didn’t happen. However, he is still only 19 and given more opportunities could build on this shaky start, so the fans quick criticism is a bit harsh. Hepburn-Murphy does need to improve in his next few matches or the fans will be proved right and his chances in the first team will dry up.