Scott Murray 

Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United: FA Cup third round – live

Minute-by-minute report: Join Scott Murray for updates from the third-round tie at Villa Park
  
  

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (right) celebrates scoring their second goal against West Ham, with Ollie Watkins.
Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers (right) celebrates scoring their second goal against West Ham, with Ollie Watkins. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

Match-winner Morgan Rogers talks to ITV. “Obviously to go 1-0 down isn’t what we want … but we showed courage and determination … we played pretty well … controlled the game … when you keep pushing, hopefully it goes in … we were more forward thinking … we created chances and mayhem … we’ve got belief in the changing room … we can come back against anyone … why can’t we win [the cup] … you have to take it game by game … we want to go on a run … it’s a historic competition and we’re going to do our best to win it.”

Aston Villa were so much better in that second half. Admittedly the bar was almost subterranean, so poor were they in the first, but an improvement’s an improvement, and such was their dominance during the last quarter of the match, you can’t really argue with the turnaround and the result. Er … except for the fairly large caveat that the corner that led to Villa’s equaliser should never have been awarded, an egregious mistake that West Ham will be within their rights to be livid about. Having said that, they failed to deal with the resulting set piece, and were unable to clear their heads thereafter. Debate will rage on, so just be thankful that the absence of VAR had absolutely no bearing on this particular controversy, as it couldn’t have intervened on the award of a corner anyway. Villa will be delighted with their rare win in the FA Cup; West Ham, once the pain and irritation abates, will be encouraged by an improved display under their new boss.

FULL TIME: Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United

It’s their party and they’ll cry if they want to party all night! Villa win in the third round for only the third time since 2016.

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90 min +5: … Villa make a collective mess of clearing. The ball drops to Ings, 12 yards out. He swivels, and probably should score, but leans back and hoicks a shot wide left and high. A huge chance to force extra-time goes begging. That will probably be that!

90 min +4: Kudus, driving down the right, curls towards Cresswell in acres on the left. Cresswell batters a shot that’s deflected out by Nedeljkovic, who had made a fine recovery run. Then from the resulting corner …

90 min +3: A huge roar of relief from the Villa faithful as that Soler shot sailed into the stand. So close now to a rare third-round victory!

90 min +2: … Olsen punches half-clear. The ball’s returned into the mixer and breaks to Soler on the edge of the D. Soler, half facing the wrong way, pivots and lumps a shot miles over the bar.

90 min +1: Space for Wan-Bissaka down the right. He crosses well. Soucek flicks on for Ings, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. Ings tries to hook goalwards, but Morgan is on hand to turn out for a corner. From which …

90 min: There will be six additional minutes. Extra time if West Ham can find an equaliser!

89 min: Watkins drives at the dispirited West Ham defence. He slips in Nedeljkovic on the right. Nedeljkovic has Morgan free in the middle, but slaps a poor cross into the path of Kilman, who hammers clear. Big chance to wrap this up.

87 min: There’s been absolutely no response from West Ham to that double whammy. Perhaps understandable, given the outrageous decision to award the corner that led to the equaliser … but then you have to defend the resulting set piece, and keep on keeping on from there. And West Ham signally haven’t done that.

85 min: Tielemans whips the corner to the near stick. Buendia eyebrows into the arms of Fabianski.

84 min: Mavropanos takes a while to sit up. He looks dazed. He won’t be able to continue. He’s replaced by Soler, while Guilherme comes on for Alvarez.

82 min: Mavropanos slips in the centre circle, allowing Rogers to race off with the ball. He tries to win the ball back while on all fours, leading with his head, and takes a whack from Rogers’ boot. Not sure what the defender was expecting there. Rogers feeds Watkins, who wins a corner. Then the physio comes on to fix the brave, if ill-advised, defender’s noggin.

80 min: Meanwhile for West Ham, Cresswell has come on for Scarles.

79 min: … and now the other sub Ramsey pearls a diagonal shot off the left-hand upright, Fabianski beaten all ends up! What substitutions!

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77 min: In between goals, Ramsey, Buendia and Nedeljkovic came on for Bailey, Kamara and Cash. It was Buendia who fed Watkins in the build-up to Rogers’ goal.

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GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham United (Rogers 75)

West Ham’s heads are addled. They allow Watkins to sashay down the inside-left channel, practically unchallenged. Watkins enters the box and nutmegs Mavropanos with a cross. Rogers, at the near post, sticks out a leg to flick powerfully home. What a turnaround!

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers (right) celebrates scoring their second goal against West Ham, with Ollie Watkins.
Morgan Rogers (right) celebrates with Ollie Watkins in front of joyous Villa fans. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Action Images/Reuters

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73 min: That’s a huge mistake by the referee and his linesman, because Onana’s shank out of play didn’t hit any West Ham player. No VAR, but then VAR couldn’t have gotten involved anyway, because they don’t intervene over the award of corners. There was a small coming together between Paqueta and Konsa, too, the West Ham player taking one in the face, but that’s putting a hat on a hat. The corner’s the big problem there.

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GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham United (Onana 71)

The corner ends up at the feet of Maatsen, to the left of the D. He shoots low and hard, towards the bottom right. Fabianski parries, but only into the path of Onana, who can’t miss from a couple of yards and bundles home!

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70 min: Cash makes another power run down the right. Another corner, from which Onana nips in from the left and slices dreadfully wide right of goal. Miles wide. But they’re awarded the corner anyway. Some karmic payback for Villa, who were denied a clear corner minutes before. And from that …

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69 min: Villa are picking it up for the first time this evening. Maatsen sends a swerving shot goalwards that Fabianski does extremely well to push away from the bottom left. It was heading in.

68 min: Cash romps after a long pass down the right and hooks it infield for Watkins, racing in towards the near post. Watkins can’t get a shot away. Just a flick that ends up in the arms of Fabianski.

66 min: Kamara robs Coufal in the centre circle and feeds Watkins down the middle. Watkins rolls right for Bailey, who takes a shot that’s blocked. The ball rebounds to Tielemans, who sends a low drive through a crowded box and inches wide of the bottom-left corner. It should be a corner – the ball took a flick off a West Ham boot – but a goal kick’s awarded instead.

64 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. “Champions League, you’re having a laugh,” trill the ecstatic away fans, in full party-pooping mode.

63 min: Cash pushes his way down the right and earns a corner. Bailey takes. Kilman clears. Villa come back at West Ham, Tielemans latching onto Maatsen’s pass down the right. He crosses low. The ball flicks off Alvarez, and Tielemans wants a penalty for handball, but there’s nothing doing, and no VAR. Replays show the ball went nowhere near Alvarez’s hand.

61 min: Now it’s Maatsen’s turn to escape a booking for a cynical tug, on Coufal. Referees these days are as predictable and readable as cats. Only without the feline charm.

59 min: Coufal looks up for this. Barrelling down the right, he creams a first-time cross through the corridor of uncertainty. Ings isn’t far away from meeting it in spectacular style. After a slow start to the second half, West Ham are getting adventurous again.

58 min: Scarles curls a fine free kick towards Kilman at the far stick. The ball pings off Cash and out for a corner … but the whistle goes, correctly, for Kilman’s shove on Cash.

57 min: Rogers does go into the book this time, for barging an in-flight Wan-Bissaka over. A free kick out on the right. Scarles to deliver it.

56 min: Paqueta’s presence earns West Ham a corner down the left. Coufal swings it in. Olsen doesn’t deal with it convincingly, but does just enough to clear.

55 min: Coufal chests down and looks to burst into space, only to be dragged back by Rogers. Just a free kick, no booking, and a reminder that they’re all making it up as they go along.

54 min: This is better from Villa. Rogers nearly releases Watkins into the West Ham box down the middle with a sliderule pass, but Mavropanos leverages the striker out of the road just in time. Then Bailey advances down the right and cuts back for Rogers, who slices over the bar from the edge of the box. The crowd up for the first time in a while.

53 min: Scarles dribbles hard down the left before gliding inside and threading a cute pass infield for Alvarez … who should take up possession in a dangerous position just to the left of the D but miscontrols.

51 min: Konsa launches long for Cash down the right. Offside. The home fans groan. Yet another third-round exit is on the cards for Villa, unless they click into gear soon.

49 min: … so having said that, the pace drops significantly as Villa stroke it around the back. Morgan tries to up the tempo again but miscontrols as he skitters down the left. Then Onana flicks a clever pass down the left for Maatsen, who takes the wildest of swipes from a tight angle. He shanks it straight into the Holte End.

47 min: Kamara launches a probe down the right for Cash. Kilman is forced to come across and bash a clearance into the stand. The throw, deep in West Ham territory, leads to nothing, but there’s an early sign that the hosts have been told to pick up the pace a bit.

Villa get the party re-started. West Ham have made one change, replacing Summerville, who had been feeling that hamstring, with Coufal. “£1.50 lagers and soft drinks are a nice retro touch, but are the serving sizes normal? Or are we talking about a shrinkflated thimble-sized cups of quaff? The magic of the tiny cup?” Peter Oh, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the sausage rolls, pies and pints.

Half-time advertising break / entertainment. We’ll have live coverage of the big Liverpool v Accrington Stanley clash tomorrow lunchtime, so please join us for that. And while we’re on the subject of Liverpool, here’s Barney Ronay, hot off the press …

HALF TIME: Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham United

A smattering of boos from the Aston Villa fans as the whistle goes for half-time. It’s their 150th birthday party and they’ll cry if they want to.

45 min +3: Maatsen races down the left touchline towards space, hoping Mings, under no pressure himself, will find him with a long pass. Mings turns his back on the unfolding situation, much to the irritation of his own fans. That’s not the first time he’s opted against the long pass towards a man in space, and not the first time the Villa faithful have said their piece.

45 min +1: The first of four additional first-half minutes. Nothing happens during it.

45 min: Yes, Summerville looks like he’s moving just fine. Ings, out on the right, nearly finds him in the Villa box with a low curling cross from the right. A wee bit too far ahead of his man.

43 min: Kamara slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Bailey, who fires a low cross into the centre. Summerville, hamstring presumably OK, is on point to hook clear. That’s better from Villa, who come again through Cash down the right. He wins a corner from which nothing comes.

41 min: Villa are clearly trying to up the tempo, aware that it’s not been going well for them. But things still aren’t working. Mings tries to barge his way into space down the left but skittles Mavropanos and the free kick releases the pressure on West Ham. If it can really be described as pressure.

39 min: … and now he’s in space to receive a ball in the West Ham box on the right, but Tielemans blooters a simple pass out for a goal kick. A chance to finally cut through the West Ham back line wasted. Villa have been poor bordering on dreadful so far.

38 min: Bailey is thankfully fine to continue.

36 min: Bailey slips over out on the right wing. No foul, but Bailey had over-extended his leg so Paqueta stops the game. It’s not quite up there with Paolo Di Canio against Everton, but it’s a kind act of Hammers-infused sportsmanship nonetheless.

34 min: Kudus takes a whack from distance. A low drive straight at Olsen. The keeper makes a meal of holding onto the ball, and had Ings been on his toes, it could have been a problem. But Olsen claims at the second attempt.

32 min: Onana is fine, but Summerville has also gone down, and he’s gingerly holding the back of his right leg. Not another hamstring? He’ll continue for now.

31 min: The corner’s worked long to Cash on the right. Cash loops the ball in towards Onana, who comes off worse in a challenge for the ball with Fabianski. The keeper claims, the midfielder drops to the floor yelling. No hint of a foul, but the physio will need to come on.

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30 min: Tielemans releases Maatsen down the left. Maatsen reaches the edge of the box – Villa make it there at last! – but can’t get past Summerville, who blocks out for a corner.

29 min: Mings is caught dawdling on the ball by Kudus. But Kudus goes in too hard, catching his man, and goes into the book.

28 min: Scarles takes, curling the corner into the mixer from the right. Mavropanos wins a header at the far stick. He slaps it into the nearest black shirt. The ball rebounds to Alvarez, who takes a wild swipe at goal and misses the target miles to the left. Villa not convincing in defence.

27 min: Paqueta bustles down the left and draws a cheap foul from Kamara. Free kick, and time for everyone to line up on the edge of the Villa box. Summerville whacks the free kick long, and that in turn earns a corner that’ll come in from the right.

25 min: Bailey dribbles down the right but can’t get past Scarles and Paqueta. Villa haven’t had a touch in the West Ham box yet.

23 min: Maybe this one’s an impact injury, not muscular. But either way, Barkley can’t continue. He’s replaced by Onana.

22 min: Another man down. This time Barkley. It’s bitterly cold in Birmingham, below zero, so you have to hope everyone gets through this OK.

20 min: Maatsen hesitates, allowing Summerville to nick the ball away from him and attempt to scamper down the right. Villa are fortunate that Summerville can’t keep his balance, having been brushed by Maatsen as he made off with the ball. West Ham are getting a lot of joy down this flank.

18 min: West Ham nearly score a carbon copy of the opener. This time it’s Kudus whistling down the right. He cuts back for Paqueta, who attempts to sidefoot into the same bottom-right corner from 12 yards. This time Cash is wise to the caper, and flings himself in the road to block.

17 min: Now Soucek is down, having copped a high-kick in the ribs from Watkins. All accidental, and thankfully Soucek is soon up and about again.

15 min: Poor Fullkrug limps off the pitch with a little help from the physio. It’s a sorry sight. The poor chap clutches the back of his leg as he hobbles away in pain. Ings, formerly of Villa, comes on in his place.

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13 min: Villa win the first corner of the evening down the left. Tielemans takes. Soucek heads powerfully clear, and Kudus batters it into the Villa half. Fullkrug hares after it, but suddenly rears up dramatically, falling to the turf immediately. He takes turns in holding the back of his left leg, and covering his eyes in despair. That’s his hamstring gone.

11 min: That was a lovely counter from West Ham. Seconds before, Kamara had wedged a long pass down Villa’s inside-right channel that dropped over Watkins’ shoulder. Watkins, ahead of Mavropanos in the box, was free, but couldn’t connect, Robbie Fowler style, with a volley.

GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 West Ham United (Paqueta 9)

Kudus, quarterbacking in the centre circle, sprays a pass down the right for Summerville, who drives down the wing, sashays infield, draws Maatsen, and cuts back for Paqueta, free on the spot. Paqueta steers a shot into the bottom right that wrong-foots Olsen. What a finish! Lovely move, and this is some start to the Graham Potter era.

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8 min: Some more patient Villa play. They’re dominating the early exchanges, without achieving much.

6 min: Maatsen whips a low, inviting cross through the West Ham six-yard box from the left touchline. It’s a fine delivery, but Watkins is nowhere near it, and in any case the flag pops up for offside.

5 min: Other than that early West Ham sortie, it’s been all sterile Aston Villa possession. The home side finding their feet. “I suspect that neither club would mind losing this one, or at least neither manager,” opines Kári Tulinius. “Emery would be happy to focus on the Big-Eared Cup, and Potter could do with extra days on the training pitch to revamp West Ham’s style. I say revamp, but really it’s a case of giving the team any style, unless they were going for that newfangled ‘sad beige’ that’s all the rage, apparently.”

4 min: A beautiful noise at Villa Park. Glorious bedlam. A proper cup-tie atmosphere, with both sets of fans giving it plenty. Hey, you do what you do to keep warm on a chilly night like this.

2 min: Graham Potter applauded that Paqueta effort warmly. What a start to his West Ham reign that would have been!

1 min: Just 41 seconds on the clock, in fact, and West Ham nearly take the lead in spectacular style. The ball’s shuttled right to left via Wan-Bissaka, Summerville and Paqueta, the latter pearling a diagonal rising shot from 25 yards that misses the top-right corner by an inch or two. Not sure Olsen was getting there.

West Ham get the ball rolling. A reminder that this tie will be decided tonight, after extra time and penalty kicks if necessary. And there’s no VAR!

The teams take to the pitch. We already know about Villa’s black shirts; West Ham pair those with their fetching white and claret third kit. Everyone looking sharp, looking good. A brilliant under-the-lights £1.50-a-pint-fuelled atmosphere at Villa Park. Anniversary-marking jets of flame blast into the night sky. Anticipation crackles around the famous old stadium, though that’ll be tempered with the knowledge that Villa’s recent record in the FA Cup is nothing short of disgraceful. Since reaching the final in 2015 – and there’s a match they’d rather forget – they’ve only won two FA Cup ties. Two! And those against lower-league sides in Wycombe and Middlesbrough. Two wins, though.

Updated

Villa boss Unai Emery speaks to ITV. “Good evening … the history of this cup is very important … a way for us for a trophy … seven times Villa won, a long time ago … we are proud of those trophies Villa won … we need this competition … a chance to get to Europe … West Ham are going to be motivated … for every team it is important … we want to be a protagonist in this competition … we need to connect with our fans … our wish to win is strong.”

These clubs have only met in the FA Cup on three previous occasions, and anyone who believes in omens will be excited that they’re meeting for a fourth. The first-ever showdown in 1913 saw Villa win 5-0 in the second round, thanks to goals from Harold Halse (2), Clem Stephenson, Harry Hampton and William Morris; they went on to lift the trophy. The third time they met, West Ham legend Ray Stewart scored the only goal in the 1980 quarter-finals, and the Hammers ended up raising the cup at Wembley. The one in the middle, a 3-0 victory for Villa courtesy of goals from John Deehan (2) and Dennis Mortimer, didn’t lead to any glory whatsoever, so in that sense muddies the waters. But two out of three ain’t bad. Today’s winner is therefore permitted to dream, and dream big. (Superstitious Villa fans can also, in the event their team loses 1-0 like they did in 1980, assume they’re going to win the league next year and the European Cup in 2027.)

Graham Potter is celebrating his 24-hour anniversary as West Ham United boss, and here’s the new boss talking to ITV. “West Ham are a fantastic football club … great history, tradition … ambition … a family feel … a well-functioning academy … an ambitious board … it felt really right … I feel like I’ve come back stronger … a better person and coach … I’m really excited … we had a training session yesterday … met everybody … tried to get my bearings … prepared the team … a day in the hotel today as well … the response has been brilliant … the players have taken on little messages … we understand what we’re trying to do so onto the game.”

Updated

Aston Villa are celebrating their 150th anniversary tonight. To mark the occasion, various match-day items have been priced at £1.50, including lager, pies, sausage rolls, soft drinks, scarves, beanie hats, caps, the commemorative programme, and the shuttle bus from Birmingham city centre to Villa Park. That’s a lovely touch. The commemorative shirt isn’t priced at £1.50, mind, but let’s not expect the moon on a stick. In any case, that’s not stopped the kit already selling out online, and you can understand why, because it’s delicious: all black, reflecting the club’s first colours before they transitioned to their storied claret and blue, with retro rampant-lion crest, no sponsors, and no names on the back. Happy birthday, Villa!

Aston Villa make three changes to their starting XI after last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League home win over Leicester City. Emiliano Martínez makes way for Robin Olsen in goal. Morgan Rogers and Ian Maatsen step up, while Lucas Digne drops to the bench and captain John McGinn sits this one out injured.

West Ham United also make three changes, after the strange 4-1 defeat at Manchester City that sometimes promised more but ultimately cost Julen Lopetegui his job. Łukasz Fabiański replaces Alphonse Areola in goal. Konstantinos Mavropanos and Oliver Scarles coming in, with Vladimír Coufal benched and Jean-Clair Todibo out injured. The 19-year-old left-back Scarles, who has appeared a couple of times as a Premier League sub, will make his first start for West Ham.

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The teams

Aston Villa: Olsen, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, Bailey, Barkley, Rogers, Watkins.
Subs: Gauci, Nedeljkovic, Digne, Bogarde, Onana, Ramsey, Jimoh, Buendia, Burrowes.

West Ham United: Fabianski, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Scarles, Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Summerville, Fullkrug.
Subs: Foderingham, Cresswell, Soler, Coufal, Luis Guilherme, Ings, Rodriguez, Irving, Casey.

Referee: Tim Robinson (West Sussex).

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Preamble

Two grand old clubs with a proud FA Cup pedigree meet tonight. Aston Villa have won the cup on seven occasions, a record only bettered by six others, while West Ham boast three wins on their resumé, plus a supporting role in one of the competition’s greatest stories, the White Horse Final. All good and well, the only problem being that everything happened such a long time ago. West Ham haven’t won it since 1980, Aston Villa since 1957. Villa have only featured in two subsequent finals, failing to turn up in 2000 then falling apart in 2015; West Ham have only made one more, though to be fair were a last-minute lightning bolt away from victory in 2006. However for both it’s been quite the wait. Who’ll still have hope of ending theirs once we’re done here tonight? Kick-off is at 8pm GMT, and we go to extra time and penalties if necessary. It’s on!

 

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