Aston Villa struck twice in five second-half minutes to stun West Ham and progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win, denying Graham Potter a win in his first game in charge of the Hammers.
Lucas Paqueta gave Potter a dream start at Villa Park on his return to the dugout, 20 months after leaving his last job at Chelsea in April 2023 – and having managed just one West Ham training session after his appointment on Thursday.
But Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers turned the game in the hosts' favour, taking them to the 32nd final of the competition for only the second time in nine seasons.
Paqueta tested the waters inside the first 45 seconds with a rocket shot that whistled no more than inches, then hit the opener after nine minutes when he got late to sideline Crysencio Summerville past Robin Olsen.
Lucas Paquet gave West Ham the lead after nine minutes
The mood quickly soured, however, when Niclas Fullkrug – who missed 10 Premier League games between September and December with an Achilles problem – limped off after pulling and clutching his hamstring as he charged forward.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Potter said: “I'd imagine it's a pretty bad hamstring injury when you go back like that, so that's a concern for us.”
Villa's Ross Barkley was also injured shortly afterwards and the two injuries disrupted the flow of a first half in which the hosts struggled to make a dent; they didn't manage a single goal until the break.
After more than an hour, not one of Villa's shots had hit the target – but then the pendulum began to swing in their direction.
Amadou Onana scored a controversial equalizer for Aston Villa
Shortly after Lukasz Fabianski made a smart save from Ian Maatsen's fierce shot, Villa were awarded a corner, despite Onana's shot appearing to have rolled straight out of play, and from a set-piece the Belgium international headed home from close range in the 71st minute.
Within five minutes, the hosts struck again with a ruthlessly effective move which saw Ollie Watkins collect a pass from Emi Buendia and slot past Rogers to tap home a first time.
Rogers shoots Villa in front
Substitute Jacob Ramsey then smashed a shot off the post as Villa looked to quickly put the game to bed, but the miss mattered little as West Ham could not find a way back.
Potter: We're really disappointed with the exit – but we have to stay positive
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Despite losing his first game in charge of West Ham to Aston Villa in the FA Cup, Graham Potter still saw plenty of positives to take from their performances going forward
West Ham the manager Graham Potter speaking further ITV:
“The beginning of the game was very good, very positive. We had a good organization, threatened, reduced Villa to not too much. The first half was very good.
“In the second half they stepped up and pushed us too far back. Losing Fullkrug and Summerville affected our attacking side of the game. It was more pressure than big chances.
“We had to adjust without Summerville, it affected our offensive game, and we ended up a little too deep. With the ball, we couldn't get enough offense to relieve the pressure. But that's something we'll look to improve on.”
“I'm not sure if the first goal was a corner, it didn't look like it. It's one of those things.
“Down 2-1, we regrouped a bit and pushed, and in the end we had a few chances.
“The players were very good in the last two days. The preparations were very good in the game and we have to stay positive. It's a game and there are two days. The attitude of the players, registration, understanding and intensity was good.
“Overall we're disappointed to go out but there's a lot of positives from the game. The players gave it their all, young Ollie (Scarles) was really good but we're really disappointed to go out.”
What's coming up?
Wycombe sank Pompey to earn a place in the fourth round draw
Brandon Hanlan put Wycombe ahead of Portsmouth
Wycombe reached the fourth round of the FA Cup for the second time in five seasons with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth at Adams Park.
Great play down the left from Gideon Kodua saw him beat two players and assist Brandon Hanlan for the first goal after 17 minutes.
Ten minutes later, Wanderers doubled their lead thanks to on-loan Derby defender Sonny Bradley.
Luke Leahy's superb free-kick was headed into the box and it was there that Bradley – who played for Pompey during the 2013/14 season – scored his first goal for the club, just days after signing on loan from Derby.