Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has reflected on his recent challenge on Harry Kane which resulted in a Tottenham penalty. 

During the Villans' last outing, Dean Smith's side suffered a 2-0 defeat at home.

Carlos Vinicius opened the scoring for Spurs just prior to the half-hour mark and Kane scored Tottenham's second with a penalty in the 68th minute. 

What happened in Aston Villa's defeat to Tottenham?

Despite the defeat, it was Cash's controversial challenge on the Spurs striker which dominated the headlines.

With the ball approaching the byline, Kane stepped over the ball and towards the Villa defender, who had seemingly gone to ground to block the cross. 

The pair collided and a penalty was awarded, but it has sparked a debate over who initiated the contact and therefore whether it should have been a spot kick at all. 

What has Cash said about Kane's penalty? 

On Monday, the 23-year-old provided his perspective of the incident on social media. 

"Looking back, should have stayed on my feet to block the cross," the Villa man said. 

"But on the other side, great to be back out there at Villa Park, time to stick together." 

What have Gary Lineker and Gary Neville said about the penalty?

It's safe to say that the penalty has split opinions. 

During Sky Sports' live coverage of the game, Gary Neville described Kane's action as "cute" and went on to say that others may not appreciate how he earned the penalty. 

Gary Lineker, on the other hand, was less diplomatic and described the Englishman's efforts to win the penalty as "unscrupulous". 

What has Matty Cash's form been like this season?

According to WhoScored, the full-back has been one of Aston Villa's top performers this season. Across 22 appearances this year, Cash has provided an average rating of 7.03.

Out of the Villa men who have featured frequently for Smith's side this season, only Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins have provided higher scores. 

He's clearly a valuable asset to Villa's defence, as the Villans have won only 30% of their games in his absence. In comparison, Villa have been victorious in 50% of their fixtures when Cash has featured according to Soccerbase. 

His impressive form at Villa Park hasn't gone unnoticed. England manager Gareth Southgate recently spoke about the full-back and told reporters that he believed he was playing well when discussing his latest Three Lions squad.