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 a win in his first game in charge of the Hammers.
Lucas Paquette was keen to give Potter a dream start at Villa Park when he returns to Chelsea in April 2023, 20 months after leaving his last job at Chelsea and managing just one West Ham side. by appointment on Thursday.
But Amadou Onana and Morgan Rodgers turned the game around for the hosts, sending them into the last 32 of the competition for only the second time in nine seasons.
Paquette tested the waters in the first 45 seconds with a rocket of a shot that whistled by no more than a few inches, then hit the opener nine minutes later when he arrived late to slip past Crisencio Summerville’s Robin Olsen.
Lucas Paquette put West Ham ahead after nine minutes.
The mood soured somewhat, however, when Niklas Fulkrug, who missed 10 Premier League games between September and December with an Achilles problem, limped off, clutching his hamstring as he sprinted forward.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, Potter said: “I would imagine it’s a pretty bad hamstring injury when you get pulled like that, so that’s a concern for us.”
Villa’s Ross Barkley was also injured shortly after as both injuries hampered the first half as the home side struggled to score, with just one shot at the break.
More than an hour later, not a single Villa shot had hit the target, but then the pendulum began to swing in their direction.
Amadou Onana scored a controversial equalizer for Aston Villa
After Jan Maatsen’s fierce shot was cleverly saved by Lukasz Fabianski, Villa were awarded a corner, although Onana’s shot appeared to go straight into the field, and the Belgian headed home from close range in the 71st minute.
The home side struck again within five minutes with a ruthlessly effective move that saw Ollie Watkins latch onto a pass from Amy Buendia and tee up Rodgers to volley home a first-time finish.
Rodgers shoots in front of Villa
Substitute Jacob Ramsey then hit the post as Villa looked to put the game away quickly, but the miss mattered little as West Ham failed to find a way back.
Potter: We are really disappointed with the outcome but we have to hang 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 still saw plenty of positives to get them out of the game later on.
West Ham manager Graham Potter speaking ITV::
“The start of the game was really good, really positive. We had good organization, we didn’t give Villa much. The first half was really good.
“They stepped up in the second half and pushed us back a little bit. The loss of Fulkrug and Summerville affected our game more offensively than the chances.
“We had to adjust without Summerville, it affected our attacking play and we were a little too deep. We couldn’t keep enough attacks on the ball to take the pressure off. But that’s something we’ll try to improve on.
“I’m not sure if the first goal was a corner or not. It’s one of those things.
“When we were down 2-1, we regrouped a little bit and pushed, and we had some chances at the end.
“The players in the last two days have been really good and we have to depend on the positivity. The attitude of the players and the intensity has been good.
“Overall, we’re disappointed with the way out, but there’s a lot of positives from the game. The players gave it their all, young Ollie (Scarles) was really good, but we’re really disappointed with the way out.”
What’s to come?
Wycombe sink Pompey to earn a place in the fourth round draw
Brandon Hanlan gave Wycombe the lead against Portsmouth
Wycombe reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second time in five seasons with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Adams Park.
Brilliant play down the left wing from Gideon Kodua saw him beat two players and set up Brandon Hanlan for the first after 17 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Wanderers doubled their lead through on-loan Derby defender Sonny Bradley.
Luke Leahy’s superb free-kick was deflected into the box and Bradley, who played for Pompey in 2013/14, scored his first goal for the club just days after signing on loan from Derby.
