Defender Ezri Konsa has revealed Troy Deeney’s celebration inspired Aston Villa’s huge comeback win over Watford on Tuesday evening.
Birmingham fan Deeney – who has netted six goals in four Premier League games against Villa – jubilantly celebrated in front of the Holte End after putting the Hornets ahead seven minutes before half-time.
But Dean Smith’s team snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win – which moved them out of the bottom three – after Konsa’s shot deflected in off Tyrone Mings in stoppage time, and Konsa spoke afterwards about how Deeney’s joy had helped the hosts’ recovery.
He said: “When Troy scored, you could see from his celebrations ho much he enjoyed it. It made us a bit angry and the fans as well so we knew we had to come out in the second half and do more.
“Things like that always fire you up – when you see someone celebrating like that in front of your fans.
“As a team we’ve always had that belief, a good point at Brighton gave us good confidence going into this game. This will give us confidence.
“Watford have been in great form. It’s always difficult for teams to come here and we know that.”
Douglas Luiz levelled in the second half to spark Villa’s comeback after Pepe Reina denied Deeney a second.
Villa then won it in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Konsa’s drive clipped Mings on the floor to beat Ben Foster.
Konsa added: “Me and Tyrone have been joking about it. You could say I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t my goal but at the end of the day we got the three points which is what really matters.
“That’s an absolutely massive win. We went 1-0 down in the first half to what was really their first attack. But we went in at half-time and knew that if we trusted in each other we could get the victory, which is what happened.
“Nothing beats a last-minute winner. It’s a bit of a weird one. He didn’t even expect it – he was trying to get out of the way. As I hit it, it’s just got the slightest little touch off his leg.
“We knew we had to win. Watford were a point above us. It puts a little bit of pressure on the teams around us. It just shows that we can stay up. Wins like that can keep us in the league.”
