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One moment: Grealish missed chance means Villa draw QPR

Had Jack Grealish converted on a first half chance, Aston Villa might have won

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Tonight's match was a must win for both Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. Despite both teams scoring three times, neither were able to take the three points. In part, this was due to Villa's sloppy defence conceding every time QPR created a decent chance. But, Rangers' goalie Robert Green came up with a couple of big saves to earn his team a point.

Sixteen minutes in, the score was tied at one. Matty Philips had given the visitors the lead, but Christian Benteke leveled it shortly after. Following a wayward backpass from Joey Barton, a chance fell to Jack Grealish. It was a chance for the Villa youngster to become a hero in his first start for the club. Latching onto a ball that was in no-man's land in the middle of the penalty area, Grealish attempted to slide it into the lower-left corner of the goal. However, QPR goalkeeper Robert Green made a fantastic save, denying the 19-year-old.

Had Grealish scored, it would have been 2-1 in favour of Villa. Benteke added a second goal in the 32nd minute, and the Claret and Blues went into the halftime break with the lead. Shambolic defending resulted in the visitors scoring three goals on virtually their only three chances, and it took a late Benteke free kick to rescue a point.

It's hard to say Grealish was at fault for the match ending in a draw when fullbacks Kieran Richardson and Leandro Bacuna played poorly. However, chances need to be converted in matches like this. That being said, it was an excellent performance from the young lad in his first start for Villa, and he showed that he deserved the start, and hopefully will get another in the future.

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