Jack Grealish has declared Aston Villa’s 2019 victory over Birmingham City as “one of the best days of my life.”
On March 10, 2019, Grealish scored the decisive goal at St. Andrew’s, ensuring Aston Villa triumphed in a memorable Second City Derby. This victory came after a shocking incident where a Birmingham City fan, Paul Mitchell, invaded the pitch and assaulted Grealish. Mitchell was subsequently jailed and banned from attending football matches for ten years. He was later recalled to prison for breaching this ban.
Grealish, on Monday, shared a post from Aston Villa’s official account commemorating the event, adding, “One of the best days of my life for sure. Always and forever, no matter what. UTV SOTC.”
Grealish’s goal proved pivotal, propelling Villa’s late-season surge towards the play-offs. Dean Smith’s team climbed to ninth in the Championship table with the win. They later secured a fifth-place finish and achieved promotion to the Premier League by defeating Derby County in the play-off final at Wembley.
Following the game, Dean Smith commended Grealish’s composure in response to the assault. “Jack Grealish is a mature lad, and he responded well. There was only one way to answer that and that was to pop up with a winner like he did,” Smith told BBC Sport. “I’m really proud of the way he handled it. He only came off as he was knackered, cramping up.
“It was a scrappy derby in difficult conditions but we were the better team in the second half and deserved to win. A lot has been made of the Birmingham City team spirit, but we showed a lot of spirit ourselves. Conditions were tough but we put in a gritty performance.”
