Matty Cash saluted a “massive win” after Aston Villa claimed all three points against Fulham.
The Villans bounced back with maximum reward after Wembley disappointment and a last-gasp defeat at Manchester City in the club’s previous Premier League fixture.
Prior to that, Villa had won 10 of their last 11 matches, with Unai Emery’s side returning to winning ways against the eighth-placed Cottagers in B6.
It leaves Villa level with Nottingham Forest and Chelsea on 60 points, albeit having played a game more, with just three matchdays remaining this term.
“A massive win,” Cash told VillaTV.
“We needed it, to be fair.
“It’s always tough playing against Fulham, they’re a good team and we made the gap a little bit bigger.
“We had to be focused, we had to be resilient all game.
“Delighted with the win.
“We’ve got three big games and hopefully we can go on and try to win all of them.”
Villa are now unbeaten in an incredible 17 Premier League home games since losing to Arsenal at Villa Park in late August - our joint-longest ever run in the top-flight competition, with both sequences coming under manager Emery.
Victory over Fulham was clinched by Youri Tielemans’ early header, the midfielder registering his fifth goal of the season.
The club’s seventh clean sheet of the league campaign helped seal the spoils, and right-back Cash was delighted to secure the shutout.
“I think you don’t win games if you don’t have enough clean sheets through the season,” he said.
“Obviously, delighted to get the clean sheet and I think everyone, all around the pitch, helped the boys get it.
“It wasn’t just a defensive job, it was everyone included.
“And then we try and let them do the business up front.
“All around it was a fantastic performance and the most important thing was to get the win.”