Ashley Westwood capped a superb second half fightback from Aston Villa as the visitors rescued a 2-2 draw at local rivals West Bromwich Albion in an English Premier League soccer match on Monday.
Paul Lambert’s side looked destined for a derby defeat at the Hawthorns after Albion raced into a two-goal lead within the first 11 minutes thanks to a pair of fine goals from Shane Long.
But Villa struck twice in the space of nine minutes after the break as Karim El Ahmadi reduced the deficit before Westwood’s first goal for the club ensured the two midlands teams remain level on 15 points in the Premier League table.
I thought Ashley Westwood took the game by the scruff of the neck. He was terrific
Lambert, who sparked Villa’s revival with a triple substitution in the 57th minute, said: “In the second half we were fantastic. We were really resolute.
“We spoke about making changes at half-time but we decided to wait a bit. The three of them [Andreas Weimann, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Fabian Delph] have been big players for us all season and they made a huge difference.
“I thought Ashley Westwood took the game by the scruff of the neck as well. He was terrific.”
Albion boss Steve Clarke said: “When you are leading comfortably you feel you should get the three points, but Villa made the changes and the energy seemed to unsettle us.
“We gave away a bad goal and that gave Villa the momentum and they took advantage.”
