Ange Postecoglou's reaction
Obviously we’re disappointed we don’t progress. It wasn’t a great start, it’s the last thing you want, and for the first 45 minutes we struggled to get some control. In the second half we got a better grip of the game, we were more like ourselves, but unfortunately we fell short.
[What now?] Nothing really changes. We’ve got a couple of weeks now without a midweek game. This group of players have done an unbelievable job for the past two and a half months. Unbelievable job. I can’t praise them highly enough for the effort they’ve put in.
We’ve had a small group of players playing twice a week since the middle of November. They’ll get an opportunity to recover now and we’ll some players back now in the next couple of weeks. We’ll look forward to resetting and finish the season strongly.
The [fit] players have given everything they can but it takes its toll on them, of course it does. We had 11 first-team players out today. Take that out of any team for one game and they’ll struggle; we’ve done it for two and a half months. We’ll get some players back and I think they’ll help.
Aston Villa reaction
Jacob Ramsey
[On his goal] It was on my weak side and when I hit I thought the keeper would catch it, but luckily for me it went in.
[On the new signings] This is probably one of the best squads we’ve had – the depth is unbelievable. The starting players have got to raise their game now.
Morgan Rogers
We played really well in the first half but didn’t kill the game off, so the second goal gave us a cushion. Overall we’re really happy with the intensity and the energy of the performance.
We’re trying to build on something and create something. I want to play my part in that.
Us two are just starting on our careers so we want to learn what we can from these players who have achieved so much. It’s massive to have people like that in the building.
Rashford and Asensio almost combined for a third goal just before the final whistle, with Asensio’s pass rolling tantalisingly through the six-yard box. Villa fully deserved to win an enjoyable game that included a fine goal from Mathys Tel and an eyecatching cameo from Marcus Rashford.
The star of the show was an oldish signing: Morgan Rogers, who made the first goal for Jacob Ramsey, scored the second and was at times unplayable as he barrelled through the centre of the field. What a player!
Spurs gave everything they had, certainly in the second half. The problem is what they don’t have: 12 senior players, including seven or eight of their best XI.
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Full time: Aston Villa 2-1 Tottenham
Aston Villa have reached the last 16 of the FA Cup for the first time since 2015!
90+4 min Son’s free-kick is terrible, straight into the arms of Martinez. He is so out of sorts right now.
90+3 min Spence is tripped on the left touchline by Rogers. This is a chance for Spurs to send everyone forward, maybe even the goalkeeper.
That was a beautiful finish, flicked across Martinez on the volley from Kulusevski’s deep, inswinging cross. Tel had both feet off the ground when he took the shot with the outside of the right foot but he was in total control.
Updated
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Spurs (Tel 90+1)
Mathys Tel’s first goal for Spurs has given them a chance!
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90 min Five minutes of added time.
89 min Rashford moves through on goal, only to overrun the ball slightly. Gray gets back to make a goal-saving challenge – and takes a real whack from Rashford, who was already committed to what he thought would be a shot. Gray is okay after a bit of treatment.
88 min Morgan Rogers cost Villa £8m, rising to a maximum of £15m. This is the dictionary definition of a bargain.
87 min With Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea all gone, this competition is eminently winnable for teams like Villa, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. How good would it be if it was won by a team outside the Big Six.
86 min The free-kick is just outside the area on the left. Son rolls it square towards Kulusevski and Porro, who get in each other’s way. Eventually Porro flips a shot that is saved comfortably, if extravagantly, by the diving Martinez.
85 min Tel is fouled on the left wing by Bogarde, who accidentally caught him on the calf with his studs.
82 min Spurs haven’t given this up. Their second-half performance shows that, for all their problems with injuries, results and just about everything else, Ange Postecoglou hasn’t lost the dressing-room.
81 min: Aston Villa substitution Ian Maatsen comes on for Lucas Digne.
80 min Porro is booked for a late tackle on Ramsey, who gives him a shove as he gets to his feet. It was a poor challenge, born of frustration. When the dust settles he offers an apology that Ramsey accepts.
Updated
78 min: Chance for Danso! A shot deflects to Porro on the far side of the area. He hammers a low cross that is turned wide from six yards by Danso at the far post. At first it looked a bad miss but on reflection he was unsighted by Garcia and the ball was really travelling. Still a good chance mind.
75 min: Brilliant save by Kinsky! A majestic touch in the centre circle from Rashford, who looks reborn, frees Rogers. He surges forward and puts Ramsey through on goal for the umpteenth time today. Kinsky flies out and spreads himself to make a fine block. He has more than made up for that early error.
74 min Rashford, who is bang up for this, goes over just outside the area after a challenge from Porro. Anthony Taylor waves play on but it looked like a foul.
Edit: it was definitely a foul.
Updated
73 min Pape Sarr replaces Rodrigo Bentancur for Spurs.
73 min Rogers sprays wide of the near post after a delightful sequence of passes and flicks between him and Asensio.
72 min Tottenham started the second half well but Rogers’ goal has flattened them. You never know in football, the funniest of all the old games, but right now it looks a done deal.
71 min Tielemans fresh-airs a volley from Digne’s deep cross. He may have been put off by Bergvall missing a header just in front of him.
70 min Rashford pulls out to the left and plays a good ball to the underlapping Digne, whose cross is blocked. Rashford then charges after Porro to win a corner. He’s made a lively start.
68 min Rashford leaps for a long ball and accidentally catches Danso with his elbow. Danso will need treatment but he seems fine.
Rashford has gone straight up front with Asensio just behind him. Morgan Rogers has moved to the right.
Updated
66 min: Double substitution for Villa Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio replace Leon Bailey, who was good, and Donyell Malen, who was excellent.
Updated
It was a good team goal, sparked by a terrific pass between the lines from Tielemans to Malen. He gave the ball to Bailey, ran outside to receive a return pass and slide a very dangerous low cross. Porro, who was in the process of falling over, could only screw the ball out in front of goal and Rogers finished with glee from close range.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Spurs (Rogers 64)
Morgan Rogers lands a hammer blow on Tottenham Hotspur!
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64 min Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio are about to come on for Villa.
62 min Now Bergvall is booked for a foul on Ramsey, although I think Anthony Taylor signalled that it was for repeated offending.
60 min Bentancur is booked for cynically pulling back Rogers. I know I keep prattling on about this but Rogers is so good at running with the ball in the middle of the pitch; it’s a rare skill.
58 min: Terrific save by Kinsky! Villa almost double their lead on the break. McGinn’s angled through pass towards Ramsey was only partially cut out by Porro. It still ran through to Ramsey, whose first-time shot was beaten away by the outrushing Kinsky. That’s his best save so far.
58 min A reminder that the tie will go extra time and penalties if necessary. That looked unlikely at half time, such was Villa’s dominance, but Spurs have been excellent since the break.
56 min The tireless Garcia breaks down the right and puts in a dangerous cross that is well cleared by Danso. Spurs break and Kulusevski shoots too close to Martinez from 20 yards.
It’s a much better game now. Spurs have been much more energetic and purposeful since half-time.
55 min Son, 15 yards out, tees up Bissouma, whose shot deflects behind for another corner. It’s half cleared and then put back into the six-yard box by Bergvall. Villa eventually get the ball away.
53 min Digne is okay.
52 min The second corner is headed away by Bogarde at the near post – but his header smacks Digne straight in the face and knocks him off his feet. There’s a break in play while he receives treatment.
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51 min Son makes a fine run behind the defence, onto Kulusevski’s pass, and hits a shot from 15 yards is really well blocked by the stretching Bogarde. That corner leads to another when Digne heads Tel’s cross behind. This is better from Spurs.
49 min A quiet start to the second half. That’s it.
46 min Villa begin the second half. Spurs have made a half-time substitution, Yves Bissouma for Mikey oore. That’s a bit harsh on Moore, who was probably Spurs’ brighest attacker, but you can understand why Ange Postecoglou wants to stiffen the midfield. Dejan Kulusevski will move to the right wing.
Half-time reading
Half-time comedy on the BBC
As Mark Chapman tries to discuss the first half with the panel of Dion Dublin, Jermain Defoe and Joe Hart, a fan slams repeatedly on the window and shouts “w@nk£er$!”
“He’s angry,” says Chapman. “Dion, take us through the first half…”
Quick as flash Dublin sticks his thumb over his shoulder and says “I’ll take him outside in a minute!”
Half time: Aston Villa 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Villa have been the better team – more confident, more dynamic – and lead through Jacob Ramsey’s first-minute goal. It came from a mistake by Antonin Kinsky, though he made partial amends with some good saves later in the half.
Spurs looked down on their luck for much of the half but they should have equalised when Son shot straight at Emi Martinez from 10 yards.
45+2 min Spence’s curler from 25 yards is comfortably saved by Martinez.
45+1 min Gray’s ball out of defence is intercepted by Bailey. He plays in Malen, who hits the side netting from a tight angle. As Alan Shearer says, he needed to go across the keeper – if not necessarily to score then at least force a save and a potential rebound that would have been snapped up by Tielemans.
44 min Now Villa are having a decent spell as we approach half-time. A second goal now would be a killer blow to Spurs.
40 min Martinez charges out of his area to beat Son to Porro’s through ball. Excellent goalkeeping. He is so good.
39 min Gray is a bit lucky to escape a yellow card after pulling back Malen.
37 min Spurs are having their first extended spell of possession. They are lacking in confidence, though, and there is little of the breezy inventiveness with which they play at their best.
34 min Moore plays a quick through pass to Son, who is slightly on his heels. That allows Digne, who read the play well, to get back and clear.
32 min This time it’s Rogers who runs straight through midfield. His shot from 25 yards bounces up awkwardly and is pushed away by the diving Kinsky. Malen’s follow up, under pressure from Danso, goes well wide.
30 min As Alan Shearer points out on BBC, most of Villa’s chances have come from players either running or sliding a pass straight through the heart of the Spurs midfield. That’s never a great sign.
29 min: Excellent save by Kinksy! Bailey runs at a backpedalling Spurs defence, gets to the edge of the area and rams a shot that is pushed away to his right by Kinsky. The loose ball breaks to Ramsey, who hits the outside of the post from a very tight angle. I suspect Kinsky had Ramsey’s shot covered. Either way, the first save was excellent.
27 min: Villa substitution Lamane Bogarde replaces Ezri Konsa. Replays show that he tweaked something while running back towards his own goal just before that Son chance.
Villa will have Axel Disasi, on loan from Chelsea, available in the Premier League but he’s cup-tied today.
25 min Ezrik Konsa is down and receiving treatment. Villa are already without Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres so this is a worry.
24 min: Great chance for Son! Mikey Moore runs onto a straight pass down the right and slides a superb low cross to Son, who shoots straight at Martinez from 10 yards. Martinez did well to get across his line and spread himself, but an in-form Son would score there.
Updated
23 min Bailey goes down after being caught by Spence, whose studs rolled over the ball and into Bailey’s foot. He’s fine.
20 min Villa break and Ramsey, found by Malen, shoots a few yards wide from the edge of the area. He was in a very similar position for the goal.
20 min McGinn is pressed well by Bergvall in his own area, but he has time to collect the loose ball and clear. Better from Spurs though.
19 min As at Anfield, Spurs are really struggling to keep the ball. That’s worrying because it’s the one part of their game that was in decent working order even when they were losing games.
18 min Tielemans gallops decisively through midfield, holds off a challenge from Moore and whips a shot just wide from 22 yards. Lovely effort.
15 min: Good save by Kinsky! Bailey cuts inside from the right, uses the overlapping Garcia by not using him and flashes a curling shot towards the far corner. Kinsky dives a long way to his right to push it away.
Kinsky’s problem with the goal, incidentally, is that the ball was closer to him than he realised. He dived to his left when he didn’t really need to and that’s why he fumbled it over his right hip and into the net.
14 min: Chance for Malen! Kinsky almost lets the ball run under his feet. Eventually his pass out is intercepted on the Villa right. The ball is fed quickly into Malen, who splashes over the bar from about 12 yards. There was a defender jockeying him so it wasn’t an easy chance, but a chance it assuredly was.
13 min A nice Villa move down the left ends with Digne’s cross deflecting behind for a corner. Tielemans clips a dangerous ball that is cleared away awkwardly by Bergvall. Villa regain possession and Garcia splashes high and wide from the edge of the area.
12 min Villa should go in for the kill here because Spurs, though they are working hard, look understandably fragile.
8 min Spurs are passing the ball around at the back, trying to feel their way into the game after the shock of that early goal.
6 min McGinn’s free-kick flashes across the face of goal. Spurs need to ride out this storm.
The goal came so early that I forgot to tell you that Spurs have started with Tel on the left wing and Son at centre-forward.
5 min “Absolute SCENES at Ibrox where Queens Park of the Scottish Championship have defeated Rangers in the Scottish Cup last 16, with the home side missing a (dubious) 95th-minute penalty,” writes Simon McMahon. “A performance for the ages by the Spiders, and their goalkeeper Calum Ferrie. A clear path to cup glory now awaits for Dundee United Celtic.”
Heart and Hand will be worth a listen tonight.
3 min Ramsey might have been offside – it was certainly tight – but there’s no VAR in this game. It was also a trademark, barnstorming run through the centre of the field by Morgan Rogers; it’s so hard to defend against somebody who regularly beats players in the centre of the field because it opens everything up. Rogers looks a helluva player.
It’s a bad mistake from Spurs’ young keeper Antonin Kinsky. Rogers made the chance with a thrillng run through midfield and a pass to Ramsey in the inside-left channel. He moved into the area and drove a left-foot shot that Kinsky, diving to his left, contrived to push over his own right hip and into the net.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Spurs (Ramsey 1)
Jacob Ramsey scores after 58 seconds!
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1 min Spurs kick off from right to left as we watch.
A reminder of the teams as they shake hands
Aston Villa (possible 4-2-2-2) Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Kamara, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Ramsey; Malen, Rogers.
Substitutes: Olsen, Zych, Maatsen, Bogarde, Asensio, Rashford, Jimoh-Aloba.
Tottenham Hotspur (possible 4-2-3-1) Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Danso, Gray, Spence; Bergvall, Bentancur; Moore, Kulusevski, Son; Tel.
Substitutes: Austin, Forster, Davies, Reguilon, Hardy, Cassanova, Bissouma, Sarr, Ajayi.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
Big Ange on Mathys Tel
We’re going to have to lean on him a fair bit now. But he came here to play. His physical condition is not too bad. He hasn’t played a lot but watching him in training and last night, he was still moving quite well. We have to be careful with him, also. But he came here to play and he’ll get an opportunity to do that.
David Hytner on Spurs’ miserable season
Read Barney Ronay on Marcus Rashford
There is a kind of trap here, Flex’s Conundrum, which states that it is impossible to discuss Rashford properly because he doesn’t really play much football and isn’t that interesting when he does; at the same time it is also impossible to stop discussing him because he’s Marcus Rashford.
This is what the digital noise‑world has given us. Andy Warhol defined a good photograph as one that’s in focus and of a famous person. Maybe a good modern football discussion is one that’s about a famous person, where that famous person’s name is clearly enunciated at least 10 times.
Whatever happens at Villa Park – 48 goals, 12 red cards, the apocalypse – it won’t be the story of the day
Updated
Team news: Tel starts, Rashford on the bench
Villa are without the injured Ollie Watkins, so Donyell Malen starts alongside Morgan Rogers. Leon Bailey also comes into the side in place of Lamare Bogarde.
Spurs bring in Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall, Pedro Porro and Mathys Tel for Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies and Richarlison.
Aston Villa (possible 4-2-2-2) Martinez; Garcia, Konsa, Kamara, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Bailey, Ramsey; Malen, Rogers.
Substitutes: Olsen, Zych, Maatsen, Bogarde, Asensio, Rashford, Jimoh-Aloba.
Tottenham Hotspur (possible 4-2-3-1) Kinsky; Pedro Porro, Danso, Gray, Spence; Bergvall, Bentancur; Moore, Kulusevski, Son; Tel.
Substitutes: Austin, Forster, Davies, Reguilon, Hardy, Cassanova, Bissouma, Sarr, Ajayi.
Referee Anthony Taylor.
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The small print
There will be extra time if necessary
And penalties
But there’s no VAR
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park. These clubs are FA Cup royalty, with 15 wins between them, but it’s been far too long between drinks. Villa last won the trophy in 1957, Spurs in 1991.
One of them has to go tonight. If Villa win it will complete an awful week for Spurs, who were hammered by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Both teams are still in Europe, so strictly speaking this isn’t theire last chance of a trophy. But it’s almost certainly their best one.
Kick off 5.35pm.
