🆘 | 1’ The pitch is covered in balloons, referee Kavanagh surprisingly allows play to start and continue without removing them
🆘 | 3’ Preston player dives in the box to win a penalty under a non-challenge from Youri Tielemans, referee Kavanagh takes no action
❗| 9’ Chance! Jacob Ramsey fouled, Marcus Rashford free kick beats the wall but it’s gathered
🆘 | Still balloons are smattered around the pitch
❗| 12’ Chance! Corner comes in an Marco Asension is free but Preston’s desperate defending just gets the ball away from danger
❗❗| 14’ Huge Chance!! Villa’s corner is cleared before the ball is returned by Marco Asensio but Ezri Konsa can’t get his head to it
🆘 | 20’ Still balloons are smattered around the pitch, really poor from referee Kavanagh, it just highlights the total lack of commonsense amongst the current breed of PGMOL officials
❗| 22’ Chance! De ja vu from 9’ as Jacob Ramsey fouled and a free kick given, Lucas Digne puts it over
🗒️ | All Villa, the football going in one direction, a matter of time for the first goal…. to Preston
🗒️ | 29’ Another foul, another free kick, this one attracts a booking for Preston
❗| 30’ Chance! Marcus Rashford takes the free kick but it smashes off a team-mates back and cannons out for a goal-kick, unlucky
💥 | 31’ Preston have an attack, a comfortable clearance by Emi Martínez before a follow up header sails harmlessly wide
🗒️ | 33’ It’s corner after corner for Villa, they need to make one count before half time to stop Preston getting giddy
💥 | 34’ A second Preston attack, easy defensive header for Tyrone Mings to clear any danger
❗| 36’ Chance! Morgan Rogers on a charge, Preston concede another corner
❗| 40’ Chance! Tyrone Mings plays in Marco Asensio but his cross is cleared
❗| 40’ Chance! Ezri Konsa header from Marcus Rashford’s corner is over
💥 | 45’ The tedious long throw routine from lower League footballers makes its appearance and is cleared
🕒 | 45’ HT Preston North End 0-0 Aston Villa
🗒️ | Preston make it to the break unscathed in a typical minnow performance, Villa’s usual patient build up game is confusing the new onlookers, Unai won’t mind a bit
❗| 48’ Chance! Another corner
🆘 | 50’ Morgan Rogers brought down in the box by Robbie Brady, penalty? Kavanagh gives nothing
💥 | How pleasant, the typical lower league attitude rears its ugly head again as Villa players are bombarded with paper missiles as the come up for yet another corner. quaint?
❗❗| 54’ Huge Chance!! Morgan Rogers releases Marcus Rashford free in the box but can’t beat the ‘keeper in a one on one
⚽ | 58’ Goal!, 1-0, Marcus Rashford, Assist by Lucas Digne
🗒️ | It’s been coming, Preston totally contained, Villa patient, Rashford been at the centre of most things albeit without any of them coming off, it only takes one though and there it is Villa one up away from home in an FA Cup Quarter Final thanks to Marcus Rashford’s first goal in a Villa shirt.
❗❗| 60’ Huge Chance!! Morgan Rogers denied by a point blank save
🗒️ | 61’ Penalty to Villa as the Preston player treads on Morgan Rogers’ foot in the area
🎥 | 62’ Obligatory VAR check, no way can this be overturned
⚽ | 64’ Goal!, 2-0, Marcus Rashford, pen
⚽ | 71’ Goal!, 3-0, Jacob Ramsey, Assist by Lucas Digne
🔁 | 73’ Sub off, Youri Tielemans, Sub on, John McGinn
🔁 | 73’ Sub off, Marco Asensio, Sub on, Amadou Onana
🔁 | 73’ Sub off, Morgan Rogers, Sub on, Donyell Malen
🔁 | 81’ Sub off, Matty Cash, Sub on, Andrés García
🔁 | 81’ Sub off, Marcus Rashford, Sub on, Ollie Watkins
❗❗| 82’ Huge Chance!! Ollie Watkins can’t capitalise on a ball in to the far post
❗❗| 83’ Huge Chance!! Ollie Watkins in the clear, shoots wide
❗| 89’ Chance! Lucas Digne, with two assists already today, sends a good free kick into the box but it’s hacked away
❗❗| 90’+1 Huge Chance!! Jacob Ramsey’s shot is goalbound before being deflected wide
🕒 | 90’+2 FT Preston North End 0-3 Aston Villa
🗒️ | Professional job by Villa, never in doubt, Preston huffed and puffed in the first half but Villa always in control, easy for Villa in the second as Preston got ahead of themselves, pushed up, and gave Villa all the motivation in the world to pick them off with ease, scoring three and realistically could have had another five from huge opportunities created in the second 45’. Villa off to Wembley for the semi final - although it’s still sacrilege that Semis are played there.