FA Cup Fourth Round

ASTON VILLA 2 (Ramsey 1, Rogers 64)
TOTTENHAM 1 (Tel 90+1)

A CRUCIAL week for Tottenham Hotspur ended in a disappointing 2-1 FA Cup fourth round defeat at Villa Park on a blustery Sunday afternoon.

With Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea already knocked out of the competition, this fixture presented an opportunity for both sides to progress in their aim of ending their long wait for silverware.

Aston Villa hadn’t made it past the fourth round since their 2015 final defeat to Arsenal. Meanwhile, Spurs arrived on the back of a poor 4-0 midweek loss to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final, where they failed to register a single shot on target and were desperate to turn their season around.

However, for the 16th time in this campaign, Tottenham found themselves beaten.

The game started perfectly for Villa, who took the lead inside the first minute. Jacob Ramsey was played through by Morgan Rogers and although his shot was fired straight at Antonín Kinsky, the 21-year-old goalkeeper was unable to deal with the effort, parrying the ball into his own net to give Villa the lead after just 57 seconds.

Once again, the travelling fans quickly directed their anger towards Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

Tottenham struggled to settle. Their midfield was overrun throughout the first half, with Villa having numerous opportunities to extend their lead.

Spurs’ only clear-cut chance in the first 45 minutes fell to captain Heung-Min Son, who was unable to convert from close range following a precise pass from Mikey Moore across the face of goal.

Villa’s 11 shots to Tottenham’s three in the first half tells the story.

The half-time substitution of Yves Bissouma on for Moore seemed to lift the Spurs side, who started the second period more positively. Son and Bissouma both had efforts crucially blocked.

However, in the 64th minute, Rogers doubled the home side’s lead following another lapse in defensive positioning from Spurs’ midfield.

Villa’s central trio of John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Rogers were crucial to Villa’s dominance, stifling Spurs attempts to progress up the pitch while exploiting spaces between Tottenham’s midfield and defence.

New Spurs centre-back Kevin Danso missed the target from within the six-yard box in the 77th minute, but Villa also had their own fair share of chances. Following their second goal, the home side controlled the game with a certain level of confidence and swagger.

Mathys Tel’s first goal for Tottenham in stoppage time provided a glimmer of hope, but it was too little too late and Villa claimed the well-deserved win.

Tottenham now head into a much-needed break, with their next fixture coming against fellow strugglers Manchester United at home next Sunday. For the first time in a month, Spurs will not have a midweek game.

Ange Postecoglou heaped praise on the group of players who have had to play without rotation for the past few months due to the club’s injury crisis. He said: “It’s too easy for people to be critical, I have huge admiration and respect for them [the players]. All they’ve done is give all they can and that’s all you can ask for.”

Postecoglou asserted that Tottenham fans can still be hopeful this season, defending his side’s poor performances by blaming the ongoing injury crisis at the club.

With Tottenham sitting 14th in the Premier League, 16 points behind fourth placed Chelsea, crashing out of both domestic cup competitions in the same week has piled further pressure on Postecoglou. The Europa League is now their last shot at any success this season.

As for Villa, Unai Emery was grinning cheek to cheek as he walked towards the tunnel, applauding the delighted home fans. They will learn who their opponent in the fifth-round is on Monday with the draw being broadcasted on BBC One at around 7pm.

Tottenham: Kinsky, Porro, Danso, Gray, Spence, Bergvall, Bentancur (Sarr, 72), Moore (Bissouma, 45), Kulusevski, Son, Tel
Substitutes not used: Reguilon, Forster, Davies, Austin, Cassanova, Ajayi, Hardy

Aston Villa: Martinez, Garcia, Konsa (Bogarde, 25), Kamara, Digne (Maatsen, 80), McGinn, Tielemans, Bailey (Asensio, 65), Rogers, Ramsey, Malen (Rashford, 65)
Substitutes not used: Olsen, Zych, Jimoh-Aloba