Sellars continues stellar preseason with brace against Forest Green Rovers

Jerell Sellars has had quite the few days. The 20-year-old striker was given his first run out in the senior squad by Tim Sherwood yesterday in the 2-0 win over Swindon, netting into an open net after blocking the goalkeeper's clearance. Just a day later, he found himself back amongst the goals, scoring twice in the 3-0 win against Forest Green Rovers.

Coming on for the (hopefully not too badly) injured Carles Gil, Sellars showed good pace and energy during his 40 or so minutes on the pitch, and was calm slotting into a gaping goal after some not so great defending from Swindon. After the game, Sellars said, "I can't even explain the feeling... to get a goal on my first ever game with the first team." Even if he hadn't scored, Sellars recognized the importance of such a milestone. "That game was massive for my development," he continued. "Just to be involved, even if I didn't play, it's a big thing. To get over 30 minutes is big for me."

While his performance against Swindon certainly caught the eye, his encore against Forest Green was even better. Coming on in the 66th minute for Charles N'Zogbia, he confidently scored a penalty in the 80th minute, and then 2 minutes later, collected a poor clearance and finished with a lovely lob over the keeper. He's certainly someone to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.

While the friendly was classified as "Under-21", Tim Sherwood brought a number of senior players to the match, with the starting 11 featuring Libor Kozak, Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson, Nathan Baker, and Mark Bunn, just to name a few. After a handful of chances, Villa took the lead through Aleksandar Tonev (not a typo). After fulfilling his standard errant blasts from outside the box, missing twice, Tonev decided to surprise everyone by trying his luck a little further forward, getting on the end of a cross from Richardson from just a few yards out. The second-half saw a number of youngsters given the chance, with Sellars making the most of his opportunities. Mark Bunn recorded his second straight shutout, and while it sounds like he didn't have much to do, he has yet to give up a goal for the claret and blue.

So, yes, it's sad that Christian Benteke is officially gone. But, we have a keeper who hasn't given up a goal and a striker who can't stop scoring. Everything's gonna be okay. Right? RIGHT!?