Aston Villa shocked West Ham with two goals in five minutes in the second half to win 2-1 and advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup, denying Graham Potter a first win in charge of the Hammers.
Lucas Paqueta struck to give Potter a dream start at Villa Park as he returned to the dugout 20 months after quitting his last job at Chelsea in April 2023, and led a West Ham training session following his appointment on Thursday. Only led once.
But Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers turned the match in the hosts’ favor, sending them into the last 32 of the competition for the second time in nine seasons.
Paqueta tested the waters with a rocket shot that whistled just inches wide in the first 45 seconds, before hitting the opener nine minutes from time with a late arrival past Robin Olsen to Crysencio Summerville’s pick.
Lucas Paqueta put West Ham ahead after nine minutes.
But the mood quickly soured when Niklas Pulkrug, who missed 10 Premier League games between September and December with an Achilles problem, limped off with a strained hamstring as he advanced.
“I’m worried that if I pull like that, the hamstring injury is going to be pretty bad,” Porter said in the post-game press conference.
Villa’s Ross Barkley was also sent off injured shortly afterwards, and both injuries disrupted the first half as the hosts struggled to make a dent. By the break they hadn’t mustered a single shot.
For over an hour, not a single Villa shot was on target. But at that moment the pendulum began to swing in their direction.
Amadou Onana sparked Aston Villa’s controversial equalizer.
Soon after Lukasz Fabianski smartly saved Ian Maatsen’s fierce strike, Villa were awarded a corner despite Onana’s shot appearing to go straight over, and the Belgium international scored from close range from a set-piece in the 71st minute. minute.
Less than five minutes later, the hosts struck again with a ruthless and efficient move that saw Olly Watkins collect a pass from Emi Buendia for Rodgers to slam home first-time.
Rodgers fired in front of Villa
Substitute Jacob Ramsey fired a shot against the post as Villa quickly tried to put the play to bed, but the mistake mattered little as West Ham could not find a way back.
Porter: We’re really disappointed about the ending. But we must hold on to the positives.
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Despite losing to Aston Villa in his first game in charge of West Ham in the FA Cup, Graham Potter nevertheless saw many positives in his performance going forward.
west ham manager graham porter speaking ITV:
“The game started really well, really positive. We had good organization, posed a threat and didn’t reduce Villa too much. The first half was really good.
“In the second half they stepped up and pushed us back a little bit. The losses of Fullkrug and Summerville had an impact on our attacking part – it was more pressure than big opportunities.
“We had to adjust without Summerville which affected our attacking play and we ended up going too deep. When we had the ball we couldn’t sustain enough attacks to relieve the pressure, but that’s an area where we can improve.
“I’m not sure if the first goal was a corner kick. It didn’t seem like it was. It’s one of those things.”
“When we were down 2-1, we pulled together a little more and pushed on and ended up getting a few chances.
“The players have been really good in the last two days. The preparation for the game has been really good and we have to hold on to the positives. It’s a game and it’s two days. The players’ attitude, application, understanding and intensity have been good.
“Overall, we were disappointed to go out but there were a lot of positives from the game. The players gave everything and young Ollie (Scarles) was really good, but we were really disappointed to go out.”
What will happen?
Wycombe sunk Pompey to advance to a fourth round draw.
Brandon Hanlan put Wycombe in front against Portsmouth.
Wycombe advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second time in the last five seasons with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Adams Park.
Gideon Kodua produced a superb display down the left flank, beating two players and assisting Brandon Hanlan to score his first goal after 17 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Wanderers doubled their lead thanks to on-loan Derby defender Sonny Bradley.
Luke Leahy’s superb free-kick was tipped into the box and Bradley, who played for Pompey in 2013/14, slotted home his first goal for the club just days after signing on loan from Derby.
