Aston Villa 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Jack Hinshelwood scored a late own goal which handed Aston Villa a scrappy 1-0 Premier League victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Tyrone Mings got the plaudits after his header forced Hinshelwood to put into his own net.
The result took Villa back within six points of Arsenal in the title race but more realistically a step closer to securing a place in the Champions League next season.
It also piled more pressure on Fabian Hürzeler after his side went a sixth game without a win to sit 14th in the table following consecutive losses.
Brighton introduced James Milner for Carlos Baleba for a record-equalling 653rd Premier League appearance in the first half, putting him level with Gareth Barry, who has held the record since September 2017.
After a stop-start first half, both sides started to play a little bit more football in the second period.
Ferdi Kadioglu rattled the goalframe for the Seagulls and Milner seemed determined to get his name on the scoresheet.
After home defeats to Everton and Brentford, it looked like Villa would continue to stumble on their own patch before the winner.
Mings thought that he was celebrating his 200th appearance in style with the winner before it was awarded to Hinshelwood.
Villa forced Bart Verbruggen into making the first save of the contest as Jadon Sancho made a slick pass into Morgan Rogers, who fired straight at the Brighton goalkeeper from a tight angle.
Baleba was booked in the second minute and Hurzeler decided to bring him off midway through the first half for Milner.
Baleba was visibly distraught after slumping down on the Brighton bench and was pictured with his shirt over his head following his early substitution.
Villa came closest to opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time when Emi Buendia cut in and had a go from the edge of the box.
His shot went narrowly wide of the target but some sections of Villa Park crowd thought the ball had hit the back of the net.
Brighton did barely anything that might have hurt the hosts but Danny Welbeck kept Emi Martinez alert between the Villa sticks with Albion’s first effort on target at the end of the half.
The Seagulls’ own hopes of bagging three points grew after the break and the crossbar came to Villa’s rescue when Kadioglu unleashed an effort that was tipped on to the upright by Martinez.
Milner had the chance to mark his special occasion with a goal but was unable to connect with Pascal Gross’s cross from inside the area, leaving him with his head in his hands.
The 40-year-old seemed keen to match a goal with his record-equalling appearance. He produced a smart snapshot which forced Martinez to make another save which almost dropped for the rushing Brighton attackers.
Villa Park breathed a huge sigh of relief but they were made to wait till the 85th minute when Leon Bailey’s corner was turned into his own goal by Hinshelwood. Mings took the congratulations as his team-mates mobbed him in the corner.
Almost half the clubs in the Premier League have parted ways with their managers since the start of the season. Some Albion fans have called for Hürzeler to go.
The young German remains confident that the team can find their form again but he faces a tough trip to Liverpool for the FA Cup tie on Saturday evening.
It offers some respite – unless Albion face a Valentine’s Day massacre. A sterner test comes on Saturday 21 February with the league match at Brentford.
