Aston Villa came from a goal down to beat West Brom 2-1 in a feisty Championship Playoff semi-final first leg at Villa Park.
Dwight Gayle put the visitors ahead after an error from Glenn Whelan but the hosts turned things around with quarter of an hour left through Conor Hourihane and Tammy Abraham's penalty, before Gayle saw red late on.
The hosts were able to welcome back Tammy Abraham after a three-game absence as Dean Smith made six changes from the 2-1 defeat against Norwich.
It was the home side who started on the front foot and Whelan should have perhaps done better when heading over from six yards out.
But after weathering the storm, West Brom were unfortunate not to take the lead when Jay Rodriguez's curling effort came back off the woodwork after a stunning save by Jed Steer.
It wasn't long until the Baggies made amends and it came as a result of an error from the most experienced man on the pitch. Jack Grealish played a simple back-pass to Whelan but the 35-year-old miscontrolled it. There was Gayle to race on towards goal and he fired it beyond Steer.
The visitors settled into a defensive shape and it frustrated the home side as they struggled to find a breakthrough, despite having 70 per cent of the ball.
But after the interval, it was a very different match as Villa pressed for an equaliser.
Tammy Abraham's header was about the closest they came until substitute Conor Hourihane smashed a stunning effort into the far corner from 25 yards.
The hosts had their tails up and won a penalty just three minutes later when Kieran Gibbs clumsily brought down Grealish inside the box. Abraham stepped up and coolly dispatched the penalty, with Sam Johnstone going the wrong way.
There was still time for more drama late on when Gayle was sent off for a second bookable offence after colliding with Steer from a cross as West Brom lived to rue their missed chances and trail going into the second leg.
