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BBCSports |
Aston Villa (0) 1-0 (0) Fulham
Steve Bruce earned his first home win as Aston Villa manager as his side edged past Fulham in a poor game.
Jonathan Kodjia finished well on the volley after Albert Adomah's cross late in the second half.
Kodjia could have given Villa the lead after 10 minutes, but David Button did well to save form a tight angle.
Button made another great save after the break from Jordan Ayew as Villa got back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2015.
Villa have taken seven points from a possible nine since Bruce took over earlier this month.
It is their best run of form in the league since they drew at Burnley and beat Crystal Palace and Leicester City in the Premier League at the end of 2014.
Kodjia's early effort was the highlight of a low-key first half as Leandro Bacuna headed wide before the break.
Michael Madl had Fulham's best chance just after half-time, but the Austrian defender bundled Stefan Johansen's corner wide at the far post.
Ayew had a chance to make the game safe for Villa eight minutes from full-time, but his effort was narrowly wide.
Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce:
"We have made a decent start and I am delighted for the players. A week ago they were quiet. There have been huge changes throughout the club.
"We have tried to breathe a bit of life back into the players. Thankfully when they respond, and get a couple of good results, that does no harm.
"We have got to turn things around; Villa Park has been an awful place for too long. Hopefully this is the start and we are going to go onwards and upwards."
Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic:
"We were near to a point, but paid the price for the mistake. I do not blame my goalkeeper.
"We played well for 45 minutes, but Villa won without creating a move. We were not solid in the second half when we lost ambition.
"We didn't play with enough personality in the second half and paid a heavy price for our mistake."
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