Aston Villa: Matty Cash in stunning display v Middlesbrough, Dion Dublin raved about what he did live on BBC
Matty Cash put in a stunning display for Aston Villa in their FA Cup clash against Middlesbrough on Saturday (6 January).
The Poland international scored a late winner for Villa to secure his side a 1-0 victory over the Championship side and a place in the fourth round of the competition.
Speaking on co-commentary for the BBC during the game, pundit Dion Dublin raved about how the 26-year-old right-back set himself up before finding the back of the net from outside the box on 87 minutes, courtesy of a hefty deflection off Boro forward Emmanuel Latte Lath.
“Off the training ground again, I’ve got to say,” said Dublin. “There you go, sets himself there, lovely touch. It’s a huge deflection. Glover, who’s had an amazing game for Middlesbrough in the goal, just can’t do anything about it.”
There is no doubt that the deflection provided a helping hand to ensure the ball found the back of the net, but Cash deserves credit for his role in the goal.
He found space well on the edge of the area and, after receiving a pass from Douglas Luis following a short-corner routine, he got the ball out of his feet well and unleashed a powerful effort.
The ball looked to be going towards the opposite corner, which wrong footed Boro keeper Tom Glover, but it could’ve been going in anyway as the shot was clearly on target.
The goal capped off an excellent performance from the defender as he constantly looked to provide an outlet down the right and performed his defensive duties well.
He was handed a SofaScore rating of 8.8, which was by far the highest of any player on the pitch, having come out on top in seven out of his 12 duels throughout the game.
Cash made five tackles, two clearances and two interceptions, while he also blocked one shot as he nullified the threat posed by Leeds United loanee Sam Greenwood down the left.
After recording 87 touches, the right-back was successful with 54 out of his 60 attempted passes for an impressive completion rate of 90 per cent.
Alongside his two key passes, he found a teammate with 50 per cent of his crosses and hit the target with 50 per cent of his attempts on goal, having scored the winner for his side.
After Unai Emery has been linked with signing a new right-back to compete with Cash during the January transfer window, it was an excellent performance from the Poland international to show why he can still be the main man in that position moving forward at Villa Park.
In other Aston Villa news, a broadcaster wants Emery to sign up the friend of a Villa star for £10.7million this month.