Villa scored three times in the final minutes to rescue a point against Sheffield United
Aston Villa came from 3-0 down to salvage a point at home to Sheffield United on Friday night.
The Blades would have moved into first – albeit only for a matter of hours – on goal difference had they won at Villa Park, and looked well placed to do exactly that thanks to Billy Sharp’s hat-trick.
Having scored the first after 11 minutes, he added his second soon after half-time and appeared to have made certain of the points in the 62nd minute when he grabbed his final goal of the night.
It wasn’t to be, however, with Tyron Mings sparking an incredible comeback from the home side after scoring their first of the night with just eight minutes still to play.
Tammy Abraham soon added a second, becoming the first player to score 20 league goals in a season for Villa since Peter Withe in 1980-81 in the process.
Then, deep into stoppage time, came an equaliser: Andre Green heading home to steal a point for Dean Smith’s side.
Sharp was named Man of the Match for his goalscoring exploits, but couldn’t hide his disappointment in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
“We’ve got to do better, we’ve got to see the game out,” he admitted. “We’re trying to get promotion and these are the games where, when you’re 3-0 up, you’ve got to win the game.”
"We have to do better. We have to see the game out"
Hat trick hero @billysharp10 devastated to see three-goal lead slip at Villa Park.
📺 Watch reaction live on Sky Sports Football or follow here: https://t.co/pdWepft9RZ pic.twitter.com/vyKuahAlNk
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 8, 2019
