Comment: If finals were won on noise alone, Aston Villa would be kings

He was shell-shocked, and must have been thinking, ‘that could have been me, that could have been us’.

After such a draining game, who could blame him for not moving? Who could blame his Villa players for slumping to the turf?

Jack Grealish stayed out longer than the others, and had to be dragged into the dressing room.

It was almost as if he wanted to keep playing, wanted to keep trying, as if he had refused to hear the shrill whistle that could call time on more than just this season, could call time on this team as we know it.

The fans were left just as numb.

They had 20 minutes to turn the screw on 10 men, but the onslaught that had ramped up at the start of the second half curiously died down when Denis Odoi was sent off for an umpteenth foul on Grealish.

By the end, when Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ryan Sessegnon were keeping the ball in the corner, it was obvious it wasn’t going to be their day.

Earlier, the mood had been so much more optimistic.

Trains were rammed with claret and blue from as early as eight hours before kick-off, but the nerves hadn’t set in then and the atmosphere in the carriages was one of giddy optimism.

Confused tourists getting off at Leamington or Banbury swept up in the moment wished fans well as they squeezed their suitcases through the throng.

Thousands more made their way down on the roads, in coaches, cars and minibuses.

Once at Wembley and its surrounding complex, fans spilled out of the restaurants and the cafes, squinting into the summer sun.

As the afternoon wore on, and the 5pm kick-off neared, the songs grew louder, and plumes of red and blue smoke from flares prematurely let off started to drift towards the famous arch.

The little Tesco Express was doing a roaring trade in refreshments, and as excitement levels rose, so did the mischief. Footballs were booted high into the London sky – and occasionally into oncoming traffic.

London was treated to some choice songs honed and perfected in the Holte End.

Once inside, it became clear during the pre-match warm-up which set of fans were determined to make the difference.

While the Fulham lot sat patiently for Villa to sing their songs, when it was the London club’s turn, the West Midlanders did their best to drown them out with jeers, cheers, and Yippee Aye Oh’s.

If the play-off final had been settled by the level of support, the result would have been completely different.

Just before kick-off, the noise was so loud, one young fan near the press box with ‘Grealish’ curved around the back of his small shirt covered his ears in shock. The question was, which team would wilt under the pressure in the 30°C heat?

Grealish didn’t, but his team-mates did, particularly in a passive first half that handed Fulham both the lead and the impetus.

Bruce’s men went in deservedly behind and the mood in the Villa end had changed.

There was even a smattering of boos at half-time, although they may have been for referee Anthony Taylor after an egregious stamp on that man Jack was somehow ignored.

But the second half was different. Bruce had given them a rocket in the dressing room and Villa came flying out of the traps, Grealish came flying out of the traps.

The volume was cranked up to 11 as the fans desperately tried to suck the ball into the net at their end.

It was a great game now, a pulsating end-to-end classic with mistakes, moments of brilliance, crunching tackles, and plenty of fight.

For 10 minutes Grealish was alight, doing everything in his power to equalise.

Had he finished off that impossible mazy dribble with a firmer shot, we would be salivating over more than just Gareth Bale’s Kiev bicycle kick this week.

But the white wall stood firm, and strangely, when Odoi was sent off it ended up playing into Fulham’s favour.

It focused Jokanovic’s team on the task in hand and heaped more pressure on Villa. Now they were expected to score. But they struggled to turn the screw against the 10 men and the mood inside Wembley changed.

Passion gave way to tension. Songs were replaced by twitches, ticks and nervous glances up towards one of the big great clocks counting down to 90 minutes.

Pity the post-match cleaners who were forced to sweep up so many chewed fingernails. The 10 men were holding on. Bruce sent on all that he had – Jonathan Kodjia, Josh Onomah, Scott Hogan – praying one of them would make the telling impact. None of them did.

Five minutes from time the fans in white found their voice, and finally started outsinging those in claret and blue. They could sense it was near. Wembley, which had been ringing with Holte End songs all afternoon, was suddenly full of Fulham chants.

And when the final whistle went, there was an eruption of white, while Bruce watched on enviously, wondering what might have been.

After the game, Villa’s manager was gracious in defeat.

He admitted the first half wasn’t good enough, admitted that Grealish needed more support, and while he pointed out that Ryan Fredericks should have been sent off, he refused to use it as an excuse.

Bruce may have failed in his objective this season, but he is still the best man to lead Villa into next term, one which will be hampered even further by financial cuts.

He has made progress with this team, and few have better records of getting out of this division, even if Saturday’s result was the wrong one.

What’s more, Bruce is a good man, someone Villa fans can be proud of after a season of personal turmoil. What his team will look like is anyone’s guess, the futures of half the squad are now clouded in uncertainty.

And the future was the main topic of conversation for the 38,000 fans as they trudged back up to the Midlands.

The worry now is, with parachute payments coming to an end next summer, Villa’s stay in the Championship is a long-term one.

War-weary fans finishing off the remainder of their cans on the last train back sang: “We’re the famous Aston Villa and we lose at Wembley.”

Just how damaging that one defeat will be remains to be seen.