West Brom vs. Aston Villa: 6 Things We Learned

Aston Villa staged a late comeback to steal a point in the season's first Midlands derby—Karim El Ahmadi and Ashley Westwood scoring to earn their side a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion.

The home fans inside a packed-out Hawthorns will have left the stadium filled with disappointment and regret that the Baggies weren't able to hold out for the win, enabling the Albion faithful to claim bragging rights over their nearest Premier League neighbours.

The travelling fans will have left in a buoyant mood after seeing their side stage a late revival, but here are six things we learned from West Brom's clash with Aston Villa.

Shane Long is top class

Shane Long has, for a long time, had many admirers—usually among the supporters of whichever club he has played for.

The Republic of Ireland international has gained plaudits for his tireless work rate, selfless style of play and prowess in front of goal.

Long scored both of West Brom's goals as the home side took a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes—both of which were of the highest quality.

Long plucked Chris Brunt's spectacular diagonal ball out of the air, controlling it superbly before shifting past the wrong-footed Nathan Baker on the edge of the penalty area to slam home past a helpless Brad Guzan.

His second was equally impressive. Taking advantage of Leandro Bacuna's wayward pass, Long skipped past Baker once more to clip the ball over the onrushing Guzan.

And to think, Long almost joined Hull in the summer...

West Brom are, at the moment, the best side in the Midlands

Not a nice thing for Villa fans to hear, but West Brom are currently the Midlands' No. 1 team.

Villa may have history on their side but the Baggies are unbeaten in six against the Villa and have bettered the claret and blues' season-ending result in each of the last two years.

Steve Clarke's men are also ahead of the Villa in the Premier League table, albeit by one goal.

Tonev continues to struggle in a Villa shirt

Aston Villa hero Stiliyan Petrov recommended young Bulgarian winger Aleksandar Tonev to Paul Lambert, who subsequently signed the 23-year-old from Polish side Lech Poznan.

Tonev has failed to impress so far, but showed signs of improvement and promise during Villa's 2-0 win over Cardiff City prior to the international break.

A poor showing in the 2-2 draw with West Brom confirmed what many Villa fans have been thinking since Tonev's first league appearance against Chelsea: “What on earth was Petrov thinking recommending this guy?”

A second-string Villa side is a poor one

Villa have struggled with injuries over the recent weeks, forcing Lambert into makeshift sides at times—though they've picked up points whilst a host of top players watched from the sidelines.

The likes of Antonio Luna, Fabian Delph, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann have all suffered injuries and have missed recent fixtures.

Delph, Agbonlahor and Weimann had all recovered sufficiently to make Lambert's squad against Albion, but they all started on the bench.

Right-sided utility man Bacuna, who prefers life in midfield, once again started at full-back whilst centre-half Ciaran Clark played on the left of defence with Luna still out injured.

Christian Benteke played alongside Libor Kozak, who has also failed to impress following his summer move from Lazio.

A disjointed Villa struggled to string a series of passes together during the opening half and could have easily gone into the break three or four goals down.

Lambert made a triple substitution after 10 second-half minutes, introducing the aforementioned three.

It goes without saying what sort of impact they had...

Villa fans are some of the most fickle in world football

All football fans can be fickle at times, but Villa fans can be some of the worst.

Then the mood changed somewhat...

Villa have a knack of getting themselves out of trouble, but it won't last forever

According to Opta, Villa have won seven points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. A good statistic for any side, but a dangerous method heading forward.

Lambert has instilled a belief and hunger in his side that sees them give 100 percent until the very end, but relying on such an approach will see them come unstuck in the future—especially against the more astute teams.