Aston Villa vs Tottenham LIVE: FA Cup result and reaction as Spurs slump to another defeat
Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham: A first-minute goal from Jacob Ramsey set the hosts on their way as Spurs were knocked out of a second cup of the week
Tottenham Hotspur were dumped out of a second cup competition in a matter of days as Aston Villa progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup.
A goal inside 60 seconds from Jacob Ramsey put the hosts on course at Villa Park, with visiting goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky making a poor error to let a shot slip through his hands. Morgan Rogers converted a second after a goalmouth ricochet 25 minutes from time to make the result safe, with Unai Emery’s side the better team across the entirety of the contest. Mathys Tel gave Spurs hope of snatching a draw in stoppage time but it was ultimately too little, too late.
The pressure piles again on Ange Postecoglou, who had promised silverware in his second season at the club. With Premier League hopes long gone with Spurs languishing near the relegation places, the meek midweek Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Liverpool had already led to stern questions over the Australian manager’s future and growing unrest over the positions of both him and chairman Daniel Levy will only continue.
Re-live all the FA Cup action with our live blog below:
Liverpool stunned by Plymouth as quadruple hopes ended by FA Cup shock
The biggest news of the day today...
Plymouth produced a huge FA Cup upset as Premier League leaders Liverpool were knocked out by the bottom club in the Championship to end hopes of a historic quadruple.
Liverpool boss Arne Slot gambled with a weakened side in Devon and literally paid the penalty as Ryan Hardie’s second-half spot-kick gave Plymouth a famous 1-0 win and sent them into the fifth round of the competition.
It was only the fourth time that the team starting the day at the top of the Premier League has been eliminated from the FA Cup by a side from outside the top flight.
Liverpool stunned by Plymouth as quadruple hopes ended by FA Cup shock
Aston Villa pile more pressure on Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou with FA Cup win
Marcus Rashford helped Aston Villa to a 2-1 FA Cup win over Tottenham which saw the pressure mount on beleagured boss Ange Postecoglou.
Rashford made his debut as a second-half substitute following his loan move from Manchester United last week as goals from Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers sent Villa through to the fifth round for the first time in a decade.
It completed a miserable four days for Spurs, who followed up Thursday’s Carabao Cup exit to Liverpool by going out of another cup competition despite a late consolation for Mathys Tel.
Aston Villa pile more pressure on Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou with FA Cup win
Up next
Villa’s next game sees them face Ipswich at home on Saturday, with kick-off at 3pm.
Spurs face fellow strugglers Manchester United at home. That one kicks off at 4.30pm on Sunday, 16 February.
When is the FA Cup fifth round draw? Date, start time, channel and how to watch
Top-flight leaders Liverpool suffered a stunning defeat against Plymouth on Sunday, with their quadruple hopes dashed in unexpected fashion. Aston Villa take on Tottenham on Sunday evening, with the fourth round wrapping up on Tuesday night (11 February) as League One side Exeter City face high flying Nottingham Forest
The draw for the fifth round of the FA Cup will take place on Monday, 10 February at 7.10pm, with the ties happening over the weekend of 1 March.
When is the FA Cup fifth round draw? Date, start time, channel and how to watch
FA Cup: Fourth round results so far
Here’s a quick rundown of the results so far in the fourth round, as well as some linked match reports.
Friday, 7 February
Saturday, 8 February
Leeds United 0-2 Millwall
Coventry 1-4 Ipswich
Preston 0-0 Wycombe (PNE win 4-2 on pens)
Stoke City 3-3 Cardiff (CAR win 4-3 on pens)
Southampton 0-1 Burnley
Wigan 1-2 Fulham
Sunday, 9 February
Blackburn 0-2 Wolves
Aston Villa 2-0 Tottenham
Emery calls it a "fantastic match"
In his own interview, Villa boss Unai Emery calls it “a fantastic match”.
“We played very well,” he says, adding that he’s “very happy”.
“I know how much this competition means for supporters, for us as well. We played more or less like we planned, dominating, playing confidently and with personality. More or less everything was good,” he added.
On Ramsey, he says: “He’s getting better, and we will need players being physically okay for the rest of the season.”
On Rogers: "He’s performing fantastic. His commitment to do his tasks is fantastic.
Emery finishes by saying that “there’s still a lot of work to do, and a lot of challenges in front [of us]”.
Postecoglou reacts
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou says his side are "obviously disappointed we don't progress”.
“It wasn't a great start, that's the last thing you want, and we really struggled to get some control. Then we had an enormous chance at 1-0 we didn't take to equalise.
"We got a better grip of the game but unfortunately fell short. When you go a goal down it gives the opposition momentum and confidence. You want to wrestle control early and we didn't do that,” he adds.
"The second half was a lot more like ourselves. The second goal sort of made it a bit more difficult but I always felt we were a threat - unfortunately just not enough.
"We still scored, we had opportunities to create more chances. We were always still in the game but conceding an early goal and a second makes it hard."
Ramsey and Rogers react
Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers are first to speak to the media.
Ramsey says that he didn’t think Villa had been “in the fifth round for a long while”, so they're happy with the result.
“We wanted to put on a performance for the fans and we did that today,” he adds.
On his goal, he adds: “When I hit it, I thought the ‘keeper was going to catch it, but luckily for me it went into he back of the net.”
On the side in general, he says: “I think this is one of the best squads we’ve had. The squad depth is unbelievable.
“The payers who are coming in are a big threat,” he says, adding the players are going to have to “raise our game now”.
“It’s good to take what they’ve done and use it to our advantage. It’s massive to have people like that in the door.”
FULL-TIME! Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham
Here are the 14 teams that are through to the next round so far (tomorrow, Doncaster face Crystal Palace, while Exeter City host Nottingham Forest on Tuesday):
Premier League: Manchester City, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Fulham, Brighton, Manchester United, Wolves, Ipswich Town.
Championship: Burnley, Millwall , Preston, Cardiff City, Plymouth Argyle.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments