Monday 19 December 2016 09:43, UK
Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce hailed his match-winner Jonathan Kodjia after his eighth goal of the season sunk Queens Park Rangers in the Sky Bet Championship.
Kodjia missed a penalty but went on to score the winner in a 1-0 victory for Villa at Loftus Road on Sunday as QPR failed to score for the third game running.
Villa's top scorer was denied from 12 yards by Alex Smithies on 31 minutes but redeemed himself with 17 minutes to go, powering home after a driving run.
The striker has now won his team 12 points this season with his winning goals as Bruce was quick to praise his main man.
"Thankfully Kodjia has done what he does best," said Bruce.
"He's good when you get the ball up to him in that last third. He wriggles past people and he's done that and smashed it in the net which was good to see."
Kodjia's goal was conjured up and finished by himself out of nothing as he rolled QPR defender Joel Lynch before finishing low from a tight angle beyond Alex Smithies.
"He's got a knack of rolling people," said Bruce
"When defenders think they're diving in at him, he's turning them around a bit. The pleasing thing for me is that he stuck at it after missing the penalty and then won us the match.
"It's his seventh goal in 11 games I've been in charge so his return has been valuable."
The win lifts Villa to within six points of the play-off places and Bruce says the top-six is target this season.
"We weren't great by any stretch but at least there was a bit of resilience there," he said.
"There's spirit amongst them to get the win.
"We've still got a long way to catch up, we've got to try and make an impression on the top six, that's got to be our aim."
