Andreas Weimann scored his first Premier league goal to help Aston Villa to a thrilling 1-0 win over Fulham during the weekend.
The win is also extremely crucial for Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish, who has come under intense criticism of late.
Aston Villa were perilously close to the relegation zone just prior to the match, but as a result of this victory, they now are in a comfortable position heading into the last few matches of the Premier league season. Fulham are coming into the match on a good run of scoring form after having defeated struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0 in their previous match.
As a result, this was expected to be a tough encounter for Aston Villa and it turned out to be that. For the full 90 min, both teams struggled to create chances of any clear-cut nature, although Aston Villa had dominated the first half. Gabriel Agbonlahor went the closest for Aston Villa with a close range strike, while Marc Albrighton also went close for Aston Villa.
Yet, they were unable to break down a stubborn Fulham defence. Martin Jol had previously commented that Fulham have the capability to finish in the top six this season, but their hopes were destroyed in the final few minutes of the match after Andreas Weimann scored his first Premier league goal to give Aston Villa all three points.
"The dug-out can be a very tense place to be. The fans' expectations are massive. The more you lose and don't win, the fans are going to get on your back. I ran past the visiting dug-out when we scored. I didn't mean any offence to Martin Jol. It was just a reaction, more of relief than anything else," Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish said after the match that gave his side three points.