A number of Aston Villa fans have turned to social media to voice their wonder and amazement at the abilities of Conor Hourihane after he played a starring role in the first half of their away clash v Norwich City.
In what is Dean Smith’s first game away from Villa Park in the dugout, having beaten Swansea City 1-0 in his debut game at home, it was the 27-year-old midfielder who helped the Villans head into half time ahead, delivering a cross from a corner which was headed home, via a deflection, by James Chester.
His ball into the box left plenty of Aston Villa fans in awe on Twitter, as he made an immediate impact on the side after returning to the starting XI.
This is Futbol has gathered a selection of the supporters’ tweets:
Unbelievable ball from Hourihane. Wow. GET IN! #AVFC
— Eddie (@villaej_) October 23, 2018
Hourihane saved us there. Chester had a shocker there #AVFC
— matt (@dvtavfc) October 23, 2018
Hourihane with another meaningful contribution. Hope that helps us get a foothold because we hadn't been good upto that point. #avfc
— Scott (@CaptainScott87) October 23, 2018
Hourihane top assister in the league, hmm
— corey??? (@coreyajd) October 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/will_avfc/status/1054811601734254592
https://twitter.com/JordAvfc/status/1054811677374509057
Also one of the best goal scoring midfielders in the league ????
— Zacchery Doherty (@ZaccheryDoherty) October 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/RajSMattu/status/1054811142474907650
Opinion
Norwich were always going to be a hard team to break down at home and it should come as no surprise to see that it was a set piece which eventually made the difference for the Villans. Hourihane’s deliver into the box was brilliant, with the right amount of pace and angle which made it a nightmare to defend against for the home side, and Chester, with his heading ability, did exactly what was expected of him by putting the ball towards goal with his head – even if it did need a deflection to end up in the back of the net. The midfielder repaid the faith shown by Dean Smith with his performance and it seems as though the Villa faithful might want to see more of him than they have done in the team as the weeks roll on. This sort of display will do his chances of convincing his manager the supporters are right no harm at all.