Chelsea loanee Tammy Abraham sends Villa to Wembley for Championship playoff final

Tammy Abraham may have been kept off the scoresheet in Monday’s Championship Promotion Playoffs semifinal, second leg at the Hawthorns, but he would have the final say anyway with the winning kick from the penalty spot in the shootout.

Cool as a cucumber.

As the ball flew into the back of the net and the Villa end went berserk, Tammy ran over to goalkeeper Jed Steer, who rather Kepa-esquely had stopped two West Brom penalties. The 26-year-old career loanee had been waiting since 2013 to get a true shot between the sticks for Villa, and he’s been one of the stars of the second half of the season following his recall from Charlton Athletic in January.

Tammy himself remains stuck on 26 goals, but now will have one more game to play to add to that total. He had scored in the first leg of the semifinal, in Villa’s 2-1 win, but was shutout as West Brom went ahead 1-0 in the second leg, then held on through extra time with ten men after Chris Brunt’s dismissal.

Villa, who lost the final last year to Fulham, will face the winner of Leeds United and Frank Lampard’s Derby County this year, with the latter facing an uphill battle tomorrow after losing the first leg at home over the weekend, 1-0. The Championship Playoff Final, the Richest Game In Football, will be played in two weeks, on May 27.

Congrats to Tammy and Villa assistant John Terry for reaching the final!