Sharp shooters? We've Got 'Em!

Kerpow! Five blistering goals in five matches by five different players seem to be the main reason for the hope that Villa will finish high this season. I can well imagine a certain colourful Villa supporter and video commentator in Canada raising a glass of Bailey's!

McGinn, Ings, Beundia, and now Cash and Bailey have shown they know where the goal is in no uncertain style and now, after weeks of not having a full squad available to him, Dean Smith can perhaps begin to relax a little that it might just all be starting to come together. Already the hatchet writers were sharpening their quill pens while waiting to see if Smith's team were going to drop a lot more points over the next 3 weeks. But at least - against high-flying Everton - the Villa have started on the right foot in facing up to this tough group of matches.

Yes, it's going to be tough up in Ronaldo country next week, but I can see the Villa making a real fight of it.

As to yesterday's match, there were things about the Villa in the first hour that gave me some hope, but there were so many times when attacks broke down because the final pass just wasn't aimed quite right, and we only had Mings's fine header to look back on as a near goal.

Then McGinn had to go off, and despite his valuable industry I actually thought that Villa looked more smooth with the combined midfield probing of Luiz and Ramsey. Luiz, further forward, looks as though he could be very valuable. I just wish he would shoot more often, as he did in his earlier days at Villa Park. But it was his sublime slide-rule pass, well anticipated by Cash, that brought the house down with the first goal.

And then there was a not-so rum-do with Bailey's clever corner finding its way into the Everton net off their skipper's head. And, wow, what a third goal to then seal off a 10-minute spell of bombardment of the Toffees' goal. Even Ramsey cleverly got the ball off a defender and looked all the world as though he was going to score his first goal. That really would have been a treat.

Watkins and Ings? Yet again, no goals coming from either in their second match together. But they made themselves so valuable in all the other work they did in leading the attack. And Ings's well-delivered ball to Bailey was key to the third goal.

Defence-wise, Villa looked fairly comfortable after a worrying first 20 minutes, but the fact that Everton had key attacking players out did help.

Bring on The Reds!

UTV!