Twitter Reacts as Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa Win Dramatic Midlands Derby

The Midlands derby is rarely a quiet affair, but there was plenty riding on Tuesday evening's meeting: Tim Sherwood's Aston Villa were desperate to pull themselves out of the relegation zone, while West Brom were keen to maintain a record of losing only once since Tony Pulis' arrival.

It ended up as a famous win for Villa, and one that almost certainly aged their manager by several years. 

Before kick-off, there was plenty of banter surrounding Mr. Sherwood and his apparent love of win percentages...

"

Two games, two defeats. #Sherwood pic.twitter.com/ud1RyQmns1

— Copa90 (@Copa90) February 28, 2015"

"

Tim Sherwood: Win Ratio 0% Goal Ratio 50%. Not going to get better tonight says @neilroarty http://t.co/DcIaMF2Fbe pic.twitter.com/nPl3xMLjZc

— LiveFootball (@livefootball) March 3, 2015"

"

Anyone know Tim Sherwood's Villa premier league win percentage?

— Jason O'Keeffe (@OKeeffe_7) March 3, 2015"

A theory was also posited that Tactics Tim is more web-savvy than we would believe...

The key number in Villa's season, however, is their goal tally. Sherwood's side were hoping to add to their pitiful 13 goals on the season in this derby...

Villa's lack of scoring and poor win ratio put the dreaded "R" word on the lips of many Twitter users before kick-off...

The first 10 minutes of the game passed without incident, but one fan discovered the optimal Villa Park viewing experience for this season...

In the 14th minute, a rare sound was heard at the stadium: the roar of home fans celebrating a goal. It appeared that Ben Foster had leaked Gabriel Agbonlahor's shot over the line, but goal-line technology pooped the party...

"

CAN’T VILLA GET HALF A GOAL FOR THAT?

— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) March 3, 2015"

A few minutes later, however, Gabby actually did score for the first time since November after latching onto a classic route one move from Brad Guzan and Christian Benteke...

Foster's bad evening continued when Agbonlahor was brought down for what many believed to be a penalty, leaving Joleon Lescott to narrowly clear the ball off the line...

Shortly before half time, Fabian Delph started to trend as he hit the post from distance. However, it might have been vitriol aimed at BT Sport co-commentator Michael Owen that helped Delph to trend...

Owen is no stranger to Twitter abuse for his performances, and this game provided no exception...

"

My reaction every time I here Michael Owen on Bt sport #AVFCvWBA https://t.co/AB6Uf2FEJ8

— marty1978 (@marty1978) March 3, 2015"

Villa went into the dressing room at half-time with fans wondering how they had only managed to score one goal...

"

Villa are pressing really well. I don't know if they can keep this up all match.

— Bill James (@stokie_bloke) March 3, 2015"

And of course, there were still plenty of comments flowing about Sherwood. In particular, his not-at-all-forced goal celebration had aroused attention...

As the game progressed, Danish centre-back Jores Okore attracted plenty of attention for a questionable performance, particularly after one or two clumsy tackles on Saido Berahino... 

In the 66th minute, however, Berahino found himself in plenty of space as a cross came in and he managed to equalise with the Baggies' first on-target shot of the evening...

"

@azzzyyy @BeardsOnPoint @Bash92_ dropped Berahino from FPL like that and now I'm like ... pic.twitter.com/TznCJbIz74

— Zayne (@Zayne_M7) March 3, 2015"

Shortly before the goal, Jack Grealish was brought on in place of Charles N'Zogbia, who Joe Kinnear referred to as Charles Insomnia. The 19-year-old immediately started trending, with most of the conversation surrounding his magnificent coiffure...

"

Does Grealish think he's in Biker Grove? Nice hair mate

— Kyle Warman (@BergamoFox) March 3, 2015"

Despite all the interesting haircuts and action on the field, most of the narrative continued to emanate from the Villa dugout. BT Sport capitalised on the hunger for Sherwood by putting a camera on him for the duration of the match...

"

A fate worse than death, this. "@vonstrenginho: .@btsport actually has a #SherwoodCam. pic.twitter.com/egpMkFd8Wb"

— Zac M. (@macphever) March 3, 2015"

The game seemed destined to end honours even, but Ben Foster wasn't finished with his catalogue of errors for the evening. Three minutes into injury time, the hapless keeper brought Matt Lowton for a penalty, which Benteke coolly converted...

"

#WBA players looking at Ben Foster like... pic.twitter.com/XrIKttPeSU

— Football Tips (@footballtips) March 3, 2015"

The whistle blew shortly after the spot-kick, with Villa managing their first win in 13 games. A certain manager was understandably delighted with his improved winning percentage...

"

Tim Sherwood scenes. http://t.co/PKucbGrYEN

— Copa90 (@Copa90) March 3, 2015"

So, it appears that Aston Villa are still very much alive...

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