Aston Villa staged a remarkable second-half comeback to defeat West Ham 2-1 in the FA Cup third round at Villa Park.
Lucas Paqueta gave the Hammers a dream start with a well-taken goal in the ninth minute, capitalising on a swift counter-attack initiated by Crysencio Summerville.
However, the visitors were dealt a blow shortly after when Niclas Fullkrug was forced off injured, with Danny Ings replacing the German striker.
Despite dominating possession, Villa struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first half, failing to register a single shot on target.
West Ham, meanwhile, looked dangerous on the break, with Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus causing problems for the home side.
The second half saw a significant improvement from Villa. Amadou Onana replaced the injured Ross Barkley at half-time, and the home side began to exert more pressure.
Through to the fourth round of the FA Cup 💪 pic.twitter.com/pvebbZPoyY
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 10, 2025
The breakthrough came in the 71st minute. Following a failed clearance from a corner, Onana bundled the ball home to level the scores.
The momentum shifted decisively in Villa’s favour. Jacob Ramsey replaced Leon Bailey, while Emiliano Buendia and Kosta Nedeljkovic came on for Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash.
And the decisive moment arrived in the 76th minute. A brilliant combination between Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers saw the latter finish from close range, giving Villa a 2-1 lead.
West Ham pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages, but Villa held firm to secure a vital victory and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
