Aston Villa nick late Europa Conference League winner against Bosnian minnows in front of Prince William

Aston Villa left it late to secure their first European win in 15 years in front of the future King of England.

Prince William was in the stands to witness John McGinn’s stoppage-time winner as the Midlands outfit beat Bosnian side Zrinjski Mostar 1-0 at Villa Park.

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Despite the result, Unai Emery‘s men remain bottom of Group E in the Europa Conference League after two games.

They had lost 3-2 in their opener away at Legia Warsaw a fortnight ago.

But their win on Thursday night means that they only sit in fourth spot on goal difference, with every team in the group level on three points.

The club’s most famous supporter Prince William – sitting alongside injured centre-back Mings and behind Emi Buendia – was pictured looking glum in the second half.

But you can guarantee he was just as buzzing as the rest of the fans at Villa Park as they snatched a victory in dramatic fashion.

Villa had 75 per cent of the possession, and had a whopping 27 shots, but couldn’t break the deadlock against an inspired Marko Maric in goal.

Emery’s side also had a penalty overturned by VAR early in the second half after replays showed Ollie Watkins’ header struck Slobodan Jakovljevic’s face.

But they finally got the goal their performance deserved when skipper McGinn headed home in the fourth minute of injury time.

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The Scottish midfielder drifted into the box to get on the end of Matty Cash’s delivery from the right to spark pandemonium inside the stadium.

It is Villa’s first win in Europe since beating Slavia Prague in the UEFA Cup group stage in November 2008.

Villa will now face Dutch club AZ Alkmaar in back-to-back games where they will be looking to show why they are favourites to win the third-tier European competition this season.

Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, a delighted McGinn said: “Cashy put in a great cross so we could snatch it at the end.

“Towards the last ten minutes, we started making poor decisions.

“I remember when I used to shoot from all angles when chasing a goal but the manager urges us to get it wide.

“Leon [Bailey] was causing them problems, Cashy too. I think it’s a lesson for us. We need to be patient and we’ll get the goals.”

“It’s huge because of how we started the group. Tonight was a must win. We didn’t play well in the first half.”

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