As the game cruised to a 1-1 draw it was Brandon Mechele’s 82nd-minute own goal and Marco Asensio’s penalty that separated the two sides in the end at Jan Breydelstadion, which means they just have to hang on at Villa Park to progress to the Quarter Finals.
Despite their leads and the confidence of many fans who see the tie as done and dusted, Cash remains focused, humble and stated that he is looking forward to the next leg which should be just as exciting as the last.
“I think you’ve got to look at them, they’re a great team,” he said. “They’re playing full of confidence as well, I think they’ve been unbeaten here for a while.
“They had a massive win against Atalanta (in the play-offs), who are a good team as well.
“Obviously, we’re strong at Villa Park, we love playing there with our fans but we’ve got to respect the opposition.
“They’re an amazing side, they can hurt teams. It’s half-time, we’re two goals ahead at the minute. We’re looking forward to it next week.”
Cash returned to Villa’s matchday squad having missed the last two matches due to injury but came off the bench to win the penalty which Asesio slotted home. He revealed he was delighted with his team’s performance which could see them in the next round for the first time in over 40 years.
“It was a big victory here,” Cash added.
“Obviously we came here a few months ago and didn’t get the result or the performance we wanted.
“And that was a challenge we set ourselves, to come here and, firstly, get a result but a performance as well, we wanted to put on a good show.
“It was a good Champions League night in the end.”