Cash admits corner routine wasn't meant for him as Villa down Man City
Aston Villa caught Manchester City cold with a well-executed corner, even if it did not go exactly to plan, according to scorer Matty Cash.
Matty Cash conceded Aston Villa's corner routine that led to his winner over Manchester City was not intended for him.
Villa made it three straight home league wins over City in a 1-0 triumph at Villa Park on Sunday, with Cash drilling in a fine edge-of-the-box effort from Emiliano Buendia's set-piece.
While it was excellent footwork from Cash, the full-back admitted that he was not the original intended target for Buendia, who limped off before the end of the first half.
"It was a nice strike. It's something we worked on yesterday in training, not exactly for me to hit it, it was a special corner, but it wasn't meant for me," he told BBC Match of the Day.
"I've had a few like them, I've scored four this season for club and country. On the edge of the box I like shooting, it's what I like to do in training, hit them nice and sweet.
"We work a lot on set-pieces, over the last couple of years there have been a lot of set-pieces that have won us games and today is no different."
Villa have racked up 31 straight homes in the Premier League when scoring the first goal, and 15 in total home and away.
Cash has two Premier League goals against City, the joint-most against a Premier League opponent (also two against Burnley).
They had to be resolute against a City side who had 18 shots in total but were frustrated by an outstanding Villa rearguard.
Cash added: "The last month we've been really good. Defensively really good.
"We've just stuck together as a group. And at Villa Park they're always behind us."
Villa's fourth straight top-flight win, which came after a 2-1 Europa League reverse to Go Ahead Eagles, sees them climb to seventh in the Premier League standings.
