A late flurry from Aston Villa put pressure on the hosts in the dying stage, but the visitors ultimately failed to overturn the result, as two first-half goals from Wolves were enough to take all three points.
Jonny got proceedings underway after just seven minutes, with the wing-back’s lashed volley capping a sustained period of attack that left Mings and Konsa all over the shop defensively.
Young would make matters worse for Gerrard’s side, scoring a headed own goal just 23 minutes after coming on as a substitute for the injured Digne.
Both teams were presented several chances in front of the goal after the restart, with the match very much in the balance.
But only Watkins could find the back of the net in the second half, with his penalty four minutes from time giving the Villains late hope.
The result sees Wolves jump into seventh while Aston Villa stays ninth.
Starting Lineup:
WOLVES XI (3-5-2): Jose Sa;
Max Kilman, Conor Coady, Willy Boly;
Daniel Podence, Joao Moutinho, Marcal, Leander Dendoncker, Jonny;
Francisco Trincao, Fabio Silva.
WOLVES SUBS: John Ruddy, Nelson Semedo, Hwang Hee-Chan, Rayan Ait Nouri, Pedro Neto, Chiquinho, Luke Cundle, Tote Gomes, Romain Saiss.
ASTON VILLA XI (4-3-2-1): Emiliano Martinez;
Matthew Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne;
John McGinn, Morgan Sanson, Jacob Ramsey;
Leon Bailey, Philippe Coutinho; Ollie Watkins.
ASTON VILLA SUBS: Tim Iroegbunam, Bertrand Traore, Calum Chambers, Emiliano Buendia, Douglas Luiz, Carney Chukwuemeka, Robin Olsen, Ashley Young.
Goals:
A CLEAN STRIKE FROM THE WING-BACK MAKES IT 1-0! Poor defending from Aston Villa costs them after a McGinn slip in midfield leads to a Wolves counter-attack. Moutinho comes forward and plays a chipped pass out to the left for Podence, which only arrives at the foot of the winger after a slip from Konsa. He drives inside and sees his shot blocked, as does Silva – but the third time’s the charm as Jonny comes steaming into the penalty area to hammer a volley past Martinez.
AN OWN GOAL FROM THE SUBSTITUTE MAKES IT 2-0! Young looks down to the turf in disbelief after turning it past his goalkeeper in a poor attempt to deal with Marcal’s cross under pressure at the back post from Silva. The full-back looked caught in two minds, stooping low but putting too much power on his pass back to Martinez – beating the goalkeeper high in the corner!
So, what’s next?
Wolves feature again on Friday when they travel to play Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa returns home on Saturday to take on Tottenham.
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