Aston Villa struck twice in five second-half minutes to stun West Ham and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win, denying Graham Potter victory in his first game in charge of the Hammers.
Lucas Paqueta gave Potter a dream start at Villa Park on his return to the club, 20 months after leaving his last job at Chelsea in April 2023 – and having managed just one West Ham training session after the appointment on Thursday.
But Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers turned the game around in favor of the hosts, sending them into the last 32 of the competition for only the second time in nine seasons.
Paqueta tested the waters inside the first 45 seconds with a rocket that whistled no more than inches over, then struck for the first time after nine minutes when he arrived late and side-footed Crysencio Summerville’s pick-out past Robin Olsen.
However, the mood quickly soured when Niclas Fullkrug – who missed 10 Premier League games between September and December with an Achilles problem – limped off after pulling up clutching his hamstring as he ran forward.
Villa’s Ross Barkley was also injured shortly afterwards, with two injuries disrupting the flow of a first half in which the hosts struggled to create a shot; they did not manage to score a single goal until the break.
More than an hour passed, not one of Villa’s shots hit the target – but then the pendulum began to swing in their direction.
Shortly after Lukasz Fabianski made a smart save from Ian Maatsen’s fierce shot, Villa were awarded a corner, despite Onana’s shot appearing to roll straight out of play, and from a set-piece the Belgium international scored from close range in the 71st minute.
Within five minutes, the hosts struck again with a ruthlessly effective move that saw Ollie Watkins collect a pass from Emi Buendia and set up Rogers for the first goal.
Substitute Jacob Ramsey then struck off the post as Villa looked to quickly put the game to bed, but the miss mattered little as West Ham could not find a comeback.
What’s coming up?
Wycombe sank Pompey to earn a place in the fourth round draw
Wycombe reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second time in five seasons with a 2-0 win against Portsmouth at Adams Park.
Gideon Kodua beat two players with a great play on the left side and assisted Brandon Hanlan for the first goal after 17 minutes.
Ten minutes later Wanderers doubled their lead thanks to on-loan Derby defender Sonny Bradley.
Luke Leahy whipped a superb free-kick into the box and there was Bradley – who played for Pompey during the 2013/14 season. – headed home his first goal for the club, just days after signing on loan from Derby.
