Aston Villa manager Roberto Di Matteo has backed goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini to recover from the mistake that cost his side two points against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night.
Villa went into the closing stages with a 1-0 lead before Gollini struck the ball against the back of Michael Hefele and could only watch on as it went into an unguarded net.
Despite the mistake, Di Matteo has defended Gollini by praising saves made earlier in the game as Villa earned their fourth point from three Championship fixtures.
The 46-year-old is quoted by BBC Sport as saying: "[Pierluigi Gollini] is obviously disappointed but he is a young keeper who will have to learn from this. You learn from your mistakes, they are experiences, but he is a very strong character as well.
"He wanted to kick it away and kicked it onto the opposition. There's plenty of space, [James] Chester blocked the Huddersfield player off nicely so there was plenty of space. When the keeper make a mistake it's usually a goal but he made some great saves as well."
Gollini signed for Villa during the summer after leaving Italian side Hellas Verona.
Darren Plant
