Aston Villa vs Derby County. Sky Bet Championship.
Villa ParkAttendance41,745.
Saturday 28 April 2018 19:31, UK
Aston Villa's automatic promotion hopes were finally ended after play-off chasing Derby clung on for a fortunate point.
Lewis Grabban rescued a late 1-1 draw for the hosts after the Rams rode their luck following Cameron Jerome's opener.
Villa now must rely on the Sky Bet Championship play-offs to return to the Premier League after a two-year absence - where they could face Derby again.
Villa dominated a possible play-off dress rehearsal but Grabban and Jonathan Kodjia hit the crossbar for the hosts, while Conor Hourihane wasted a glorious chance.
Yet Villa - who will finish fourth - were forced to come from behind after Jerome's 14th-minute opener. Former Villa striker Andreas Weimann robbed a dawdling Neil Taylor on the right and crossed for Jerome to sweep in his third goal of the week.
It was sloppy from Villa but they should have at least levelled before the break. Grabban headed a golden chance over after 25 minutes when Albert Adomah left Richard Keogh trailing before Scott Carson saved Jack Grealish's low effort.
The hosts remained on top, with Derby reliant on Tom Lawrence conjuring an opening, yet they failed to find a breakthrough before half-time.
Villa continued to press after the break but a leveller proved elusive. Grealish fired over and Carson claimed Hourihane's free-kick before the Republic of Ireland international missed Villa's best chance with 20 minutes left.
The midfielder was in the right place when the ball looped into his path six yards out but he somehow volleyed wide with the goal at his mercy.
Weimann almost made his former side pay when he went through but saw James Chester block his shot, while Villa immediately went up the other end and Kodjia's 74th-minute header came back off the bar.
But Steve Bruce's side finally levelled with eight minutes left when Grabban pounced after Carson had denied Hourihane.
Aston Villa assistant Colin Calderwood: "We're clear where we are, we're not going to have the disappointment of missing out. Whichever way you dress it up, you have to deal with the situation in front of you and there can be no negatives in our thoughts. I think Middlesbrough are on better form than us, but the pleasing thing today was the rhythm of our game and how we looked powerful in the second half.
"You have to add a note of caution in there, Derby played on Tuesday and had to chase the game. There must be something in that. As pleased as we are, we know it has to be better."
Gary Rowett: "We're not fearful of it. We've just played Cardiff and soundly beaten them and we've just played Villa and dealt with a lot they threw at us - but for us it's about getting in play-offs.
"If we can get there we'll be that team who probably didn't feel they were going to get there. Certainly we'll have a lot of momentum, but we have a lot of work to do to get in there."
