Aston Villa did the double over rivals Birmingham on Sunday afternoon, with Jack Grealish scoring the only goal of the game to keep the club's hopes of a play-off finish alive. 

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Grealish lets his football do the talking as Villa keep promotion hopes alive

The game was overshadowed by an incident inside the ninth minute when a spectator from the home end ran onto the pitch and punched the Villa captain from behind, leaving the player in a heap on the floor. The midfielder wasn't badly injured from the incident.

Indeed, Grealish retained his composure and let his football do the talking, breaking the deadlock after 67 minutes of play. It was a great strike too, with Neil Taylor's intricate pass in between the lines giving the 23-year-old a little bit of space on the edge of the Birmingham box. That's all he would need to send a shot nestling into the bottom right-hand corner before emphatically jumping into the away stand to celebrate with his supporters. 

The perfect response to a disgraceful moment, Grealish stepped up in the face of adversity with a real captain's performance.

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'It's the best day of my life', says Grealish 

The incident seemed not to phase Grealish, who spoke in full spirits after the match, hailing the win as the best day of his life. 

"It's the best day of my life," said Grealish. "To come here for the first time to captain Aston Villa, it's what dreams are made of - especially as an Aston Villa fan."

When asked about the incident, the 23-year-old was quick to play it down, instead conveying that his focus was just on the task in front of him.

"I was just unaware of it (the incident) at the time, I think we had a throw-in in the corner. I was walking into position and I felt a whack around the side of my face."

"Obviously there's rivalry and stuff in football but I don't think there's any place for that really. But I just tried to get on with my job in the end and I think I did, scored the winner and we've come away with three points."

"It was unbelievable (to score the winner) in front of our fans. After what happened in the first-half, I think it was set up for it! Captaining the club was something I've dreamed of since a little kid."

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