Instant reaction to Villa securing safety with brilliant performance

Let's get this out of the way: VILLA ARE SAFE VILLA ARE SAFE VILLA ARE SAFE!

Alright, now with that done: that was one of the better all-around performances we've seen from Villa in quite a while. The offense put up a consistent attack throughout the match and the defense managed to play through some bone-headed moments to be generally solid. It didn't hurt that it felt as if Hull City never really showed up for this one.

It all began with a 54th-second goal by Ashley Westwood that saw a delightful comical display as Gabby Agbonlahor bowled over a Hull defender, passed it to Marc Albrighton who whiffed and then passed it to Westwood for the goal. Here, look for yourself:

But immediately after that, Villa disappeared for 30 or so minutes. Which led, almost inevitably, to Hull breaking their 25-year goalless streak against Aston Villa. On a free kick, Hull decided to play things short (and offside) and then in past the wall. Jordan Bowery, sliding to prevent a goal, actually ended up slotting it in himself for an unlucky own-goal.

But then the Andi Weimann show began. In the 41st minute, he took the rebound of a Nathan Baker header (which was itself a rebound of a Nathan Baker header) to the back of the net to give Villa the lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

Then, a few minutes later in stoppage time, Weimann made it a brace with a gorgeous shot off of a perfect cross from Bowery:

And that was all it would take for the day. The second half was generally solid for Villa, and the defense looked much improved. Rather surprisingly, the attack never seemed to give up. There were a few negative things today, but who cares? We can get into that later.

For now: VILLA ARE SAFE! EVERYBODY CELEBRATE!