Young Irish defender with a history of sparking brawls makes Premier League debut

Less than two minutes into his Premier League debut, Kevin Toner was crunching into tackles.

Aston Villa supporters have been crying out for a bit of fight all season. That probably explains why a knowledgeable pocket of Villa fans applauded warmly when Kevin Toner was announced as a half-time substitute for Micah Richards. The 19-year-old from Meath has captained Villa's Under-21 side for most of this season. He is also said to be one of the youth team that beat the seniors 3-0 in a training match organised by ex-boss Remi Garde. Toner first came to our attention a couple of weeks back, when his lusty challenges sparked a massive brawl against West Ham's U21s. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/719645213157912576 Toner has worked closely with Villa's caretaker boss Eric Black for much of the season and was rewarded for his training ground endeavours with a spot on the bench. With Villa trailing 2-0 at the break [Shane Long was one of Southampton's scorers], Toner came on for the struggling Richards. 47 minutes into the match, and two minutes into his debut, Toner went fully committed into a challenge, won the ball and earned a hearty cheer. https://twitter.com/Its_Elis/status/723890510000218115 Villa ended up losing 4-2 but most of the damage was done before Toner arrived, today and tis season. Too late to make a charge for Euro 2016? Almost definitely but that won't stop this determined teenager from trying. It's in his D.N.A.