Aston Villa launched a second-half comeback to secure a 2-1 win over West Ham and advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Lucas Paqueta broke the deadlock for the visitors after just nine minutes, as a woeful Villa struggled to create anything in the first half and were deservedly behind at the break.
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Fortunately, Unai Emery’s half-time team-talk had the desired effect, as we looked much better in the second half, and turned the game on its head in the space of five minutes with goals from Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers.
There was a lot about our performance to criticise as we were far from convincing as we risked another early exit from a domestic cup competition, but the important thing is that we secured safe passage into the next round and kept our hopes of winning silverware alive.
Aston Villa player ratings vs West Ham:
Robin Olsen, 6 – Didn’t have a great deal to do but produced one save of note, and although he was brave in coming out to clear danger, didn’t always get it right as we risked conceding when he opted to punch the ball clear.
Matty Cash, 7 – One of the few in the first half to show energy and a willingness to break forward off the ball and give us an option. Defended well for the most part too before being replaced.
Ezri Konsa, 7 – Accurate with his distribution and focused in his defending to put in a solid display. Wasn’t tested too much, but did his job effectively.
Tyrone Mings, 7 – Similarly to Konsa, they were both strong defensively as we didn’t allow West Ham to pose much of a goalscoring threat. However, he has to be more urgent with his passing, as he slowed the game down far too much in the first half as West Ham continuously forced us to pass to him and our moves didn’t really go anywhere.
Ian Maatsen, 7 – A diligent defensive display as he used his recovery pace well at times to snuff out danger, while he was always willing to push forward and give us an option down the left flank. Unfortunately, we couldn’t build our play from that point onwards to threaten in the first half.
Boubacar Kamara, 6.5 – Villa didn’t really control things in midfield as our pivot wasn’t influential enough. Whether it was showing for the ball to give our defenders an option or imposing themselves on the game, it was a key aspect of our struggles. Did improve in the second half as he dropped deeper on the right side of our defence in possession.
Ross Barkley, N/A – Forced off after just 20 minutes with an injury, and it’s hoped that it isn’t anything serious as he has just started to make a strong case for a bigger role.
Leon Bailey, 6 – Continued to work hard and did produce moments where he looked a threat, but they were all too fleeting as he wasn’t involved in the game enough to make a decisive impact.
Youri Tielemans, 6.5 – Similar to Kamara in that he didn’t influence the game enough and that in turn led to our struggles. Was sloppy in possession and couldn’t add any rhythm to our play. However, he eventually showed his importance with a key pass that broke the lines in the lead up to our winning goal.
Morgan Rogers, 6.5 – Too anonymous in the opening half, and when he did try to drive forward, he invariably lost the ball. Much like the rest of the team though, he stepped up his game in the second half, and aside from scoring the winner, he started to provide movement and creativity in the final third to help us apply sustained pressure on West Ham.
Ollie Watkins, 6.5 – Same story as Rogers in the first half, as he barely touched the ball. Part of that was down to not getting any service, but he was not involved enough with his movement or link-up play. Improved after the break, and produced the assist for our winner as he finally started to peel off into the channel, stretch the West Ham defence and create space for Rogers to exploit.
Substitutes:
Amadou Onana, 7 – Added physicality and presence in midfield, particularly in the second half, and was on hand to tap home our equaliser in a crucial moment in the game that sparked our comeback.
Emiliano Buendia, 6.5 – Another positive impact off the bench, as he was key in the build-up to our winner with his ability to find space between the lines and add fluidity to our play to break West Ham’s shape. Hopefully pushing for a bigger role.
Jacob Ramsey, 6.5 – In conjunction with Buendia, the pair added energy and fresh impetus to our attacking play in the final third, and he was desperately unlucky to not cap that impact off as he saw his long-range effort rattle the post.
Kosta Nedeljkovic, 6.5 – Good to see him get minutes, and although he was limited going forward, he produced some timely blocks as he showed good recovery pace and defensive concentration.