Aston Villa 2-0 Birmingham: Albert Adomah and Conor Hourihane goals send Villa second.
Aston Villa moved up to second in the Sky Bet Championship after goals from Albert Adomah and Conor Hourihane secured a 2-0 win over Birmingham.
The first-half was semi-one sided as Aston Villa dominated possession but struggled to create chances, until Scott Hogan broke into the box and volleyed a shot against the bar after the ball had ricocheted off a Birmingham defender and onto his arm. Adomah should have done better when played in by a flick from Jack Grealish following good work by Robert Snodgrass, but the former Middlesbrough winger struck a shot straight at Stockdale from 10 yards.
Birmingham had the best opportunity of the opening period when Sam Gallagher latched onto a through ball from Jacques Maghoma after John Terry had slipped, but the striker struck his shot against the post and the rebound flew over.
Jack Grealish played a crucial part in the opening goal, holding the ball up on the left before cutting in and laying it off to Adomah, who shifted the ball into space and struck into the bottom corner from 18 yards. The victory was almost confirmed with nine minutes to go as Hourihane was first onto Dean’s headed clearance, sending a dipping shot from 20 yards over a helpless David Stockdale.
