UNLIKELY : ‘Through pain’ – John McGinn makes Aston Villa admission after gruelling shoot-out victory …….
John McGinn revealed after Aston Villa’s penalty shoot-out win over Lille that he didn’t expect Leon Bailey to travel to France, let alone put in a game-changing cameo to help his teammates avoid being knocked out of the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.
After Benjamin Andre put Lille 2-0 up at the Stade Pierre Mauroy and 3-2 on aggregate, Bailey came on with his left knee heavily strapped up. He called for his teammates to stay calm in the final 25 minutes of the game, asking them to look at the clock on the big screen behind Emi Martinez’s goal.
Matty Cash levelled the tie in the 87th minute, lashing the ball past Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier after he failed to keep hold of the ball. Emi Martinez was the hero on the night as he saved two penalties in the shoot-out, and while McGinn recognised Villa’s poor performance, he admitted it was all about getting through to the semi-finals, where Villa will face Olympiacos.
“It was one of our poorest performances,” McGinn admitted. “The atmosphere was very good, just as it has been throughout the whole competition. The Lille players were giving it absolutely everything, to try and find the smallest margins to win, jumping around, trying to get us sent-off. We had to deal with that, deal with them being a very good team.
“They played well in both legs. We rode the storm and managed to get a goal right at the end. In extra time we had a couple of chances but penalties were inevitable.
“We are delighted but we are going to have to get used to it. In the semi-final it will be another hostile atmosphere. We know it is going to be much louder than tonight.”
McGinn added: “You are always confident when Emi is in goal he is going to save penalties. He is one of the best in the world at it. When the boys stepped up so confidently you just expected Emi would save one or two. He managed to do that, so we’re delighted.
“He is probably the first person to get two yellows (and not get sent-off). I was panicking. I was trying to get him to calm down. But I am not going to tell anyone how to act.
“He can do what he wants, as long as he saves two penalties. I was worried about the second yellow. From the bench, we knew he would be fine. So we were a bit more relaxed. I don’t know what the news is for the semi-final. He will miss it, which is the disappointing thing. But we were so close to going out tonight we were only thinking about getting through.”
