'Utterly useless', 'Non existent' – Aston Villa fans rip into 27-year-old after 1-1 v Preston
Aston Villa fans were disappointed by the performance of Conor Hourihane in the Championship clash v Preston on Tuesday night. Villa had been flying but came unstuck against Fulham at the weekend, losing 2-0 after a run of seven straight Championship wins had taken them to second. And the wheels nearly came off tonight at Villa Park as they went in at half-time 1-0 down to promotion hopefuls Preston. Preston took the lead in the first half with a Tom Barkhuizen goal but Villa fought their way back into the match after a disappointing first 45 minutes. Steve Bruce made two changes at half-time bringing off Robert Snodgrass and Conor Hourihane for Keinan Davis and Lewis Grabban, and the changes had an immediate impact as Barkhuizen brought down Davis for a penalty which Grabban finished. However, the home side couldn't force the win and remain in third place. Villa fans applauded Bruce for his half-time changes and saved most of their criticism for Hourihane. Here is a selection of the best reactions to his performance over the first 45 minutes:
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