Villa are on their way to Wembley ...
For the second time in a week, Aston Villa beat local rivals West Brom to earn a semi-final berth at Wembley Stadium. Goals from Fabian Delph and Scott Sinclair settled a match in which Brown Ideye and Joleon Lescott both missed wonderful chances to score for West Brom. Each side had a player dismissed and both Claudio Yacob and Jack Grealish have every right to feel hard done by, after picking up second yellow cards that were questionable to say the least.
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Full-time: Aston Villa 2-0 West Brom
Peep! Peep! Peeeeep! Anthony Taylor draws proceedings to a close and there’s another pitch invasion by hundreds of happy Villa fan. Most of the players sprint for the tunnel, but Villa skipper Fabian Delph gets caught in the middle of it and ends up being mobbed by happy supporters.
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90+5 min: Leandro Bacuna gets a yellow card for a trip on Callum McManaman.
90+4 min: Play is paused while there’s a pitch invasion from 50 or 60 Villa fan from the Holte End.
Aston Villa's Jack Grealish is sent off
Having been adjudged to have dived under a challenge by Joleon Lescott, Jack Grealish gets his second yellow card, which is quickly followed by a red. He walks off without complaint, but replays show that it was a harsh decision from Anthony Taylor. It didn’t look like a dive to me?
90+2 min: We’re in the second of five minutes of added time.
89 min: Sherwood-watch: Tim is leaning against the edge of his dug-out, looking fairly expressionless. He can be pleased with his week’s work: successive victories over West Brom will endear any man to Aston Villa’s fans. Whatever he said at half-time certainly had a positive effect - Villa have been mightily impressive since the interval after a very sluggish first half performance.
88 min: Villa substitution: Carles Gil on, Gabriel Agbonlahor off. Villa booking: Jack Grealish, for some indiscretion or other. I’m not sure what he did wrong.
86 min: Tip of the hat to Carlos Sanchez, who instigated that move with a header on the edge of the Villa penalty area, allowing Jack Grealish to send Sinclair on his way. The finish was sublime. Moments before the goal, West Brom replaced Craig Gardner with Youssouf Mulumbu.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 West Brom (Sinclair 84)
84 min: Scott Sinclair rounds off a classic counter-attacking move after galloping down the inside left, checking inside a defender and curling the ball inside the far post.
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West Brom's Claudio Yacob is sent off
79 min: Claudio Yacob picks up his second yellow card in as many minutes. It’s an incredibly harsh decision, as the West Brom player stood his ground while the Villa full-back slid in to contest a 50-50 ball. His previous yellow, not two minutes ago, wasn’t so harsh. He got that one for a tug on Agbonlahor.
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78 min: West Brom win a corner, which Brunt curls towards the far post. Villa attack on the counter-attack.
76 min: Gardner is forced to hook the ball over his own cross-bar in his efforts to thwart another Villa attack. sinclair it was who was attempting to sweep the ball across the face of goal as the Villa attacked West Brom like a swarm of bees. Nothing comes from the corner.
73 min: Aston Villa substitution: Jack Grealish on, Charles N’Zogbia off.
72 min: Sloppy play from Morrison, who gives the ball away in midfield. Aston Villa surge forward and win a corner after an Ashley West Wood shot from distance takes a deflection. Nothing comes from the set-piece.
69 min: From a promising position, Sinclair drags a low shot wide of the far upright.
68 min: A great move from Aston Villa is thwarted when Boaz Myhill dashes off his line to the edge of his penalty area and prevent Sinclair latching on to a perfectly weighted through-ball from Agbonlahor.
67 min: West Brom subsitution: Callum McManaman on, Jonas Olsson off.
65 min: Having looked cowed throughout the first half, Aston Villa are bossing the game now. West Brom still look good for a goal, but their hosts have really asserted themselves since the break.
64 min: Aston Villa substitution: Tom Cleverley off, Carlos Sanchez on.
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61 min: Delph charges forward again, before playing a diagonal pass left to Sinclair. His attempt to cut inside is thwarted and West Brom clear.
61 min: Delph plays the ball down the inside left for Agbonlahor to chase. There’s too much welly on the ball, which runs out of play for a goal-kick.
60 min: Shay Given is forced off his line to clear a through-ball, with Saido Berahino charging in to try and get to it first. Good goalkeeping.
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58 min: Delph plays the ball to Agbonlahor at the edge of the West Brom area, but he miscontrols and it breaks to Joleon Lescott. Agbonlahor dives in to try to win it back and receives a well-earned booking for his troubles.
56 min: West Brom win a corner, which Craig Gardner sends into the mixer. The ball’s flicked to the far post off a Villa head, where the unmarked Joleon Lescott has the fairly straightforward task of powering a header into the gaping goal. He sends his effort horribly wide. That’s dreadful.
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55 min: Aston Villa’s centre-halves struggle to clear a dropping ball under pressure from Brown Ideye, who looks like he might get a shot off from just outside the six-yard box. The ball’s hooked clear and in his technical area, Tony Pulis throws his hands in the air in frustration.
54 min: West Brom right-back Craig Dawson gets booked for a foul on Matthew Lowton.
52 min: Villa have shown considerably more aggression in the opening six minutes of this first half than they did in the entire first 45. They’re attacking in waves and Delph capitalised after picking up a pass across the edge of the penalty area from Charles N’Zogbia, before firing home. Moments previously, Lacuna had got forward and sent in a dangerous cross that forced Myhill into action.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 West Brom (Delph 51)
Villa drive at the opposition again in a move that ends with Fabian Delph lashing the ball low and hard past Boaz Myhill from distance.
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48 min: Tom Cleverley misplaces a pass and fouls James Morrison in a bid to win the ball back. Free-kick for West Brom, a good way out from goal. Nothing comes of it. Of course nothing comes of it.
47 min: Scott Sinclair gets forward down the left with the ball at his feet, cuts inside Craig Dawson to the penalty area and goes to ground under a challenge of sorts from Gareth McAuley. In the stands, there’s a half-hearted appeal for a penalty, but none is forthcoming.
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46 min: Joleon Lescott stretches to intercept a long ball down the inside right channel, but Leandor Bacuna keeps the ball in play. Boaz Myhill deals with his crossd with a minimum of fuss.
Aston Villa 0-0 West Brom is go ...
Nervy Aston Villa get the second half started. Let’s hope that it’s better than the 45 minutes that preceded it. No changes on either side at the break.
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On BBC television: Part of the half-time entertainment is highlights of Bradford 0-0 Reading from earlier. Oh dear. It’s not been a classic day’s FA Cup entertainment thus far.
Half-time: The referee euthanises an eminently forgettable first half in which chances were at a premium. West Brom dominated and should have scored through Brown Ideye, but he missed from seven yards with only Shay Given to beat. Villa have looked sluggish and have created little or nothing in the way of goalscoring chances. Far from looking like the home team who should be high on confidence over their neighbours after their victory on Tuesday night, they look meek and totally lacking in belief.
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44 min: Scott Sinclair skips down the right flank, past a player and sends in a cross, which Boaz Myhill intercepts at his near post. Good work from the winger.
40 min: Jonas Olsson scythes down Gabriel Agbonlahor and then Chris Bunt fouls Delph. Villa win a free-kick for one of the offences about 35 yards from goal. Delph shoots low, hard and straight at the wall, where the ball takes a deflection off Scott Sinclair andeventually loops into the arms of Boaz Myhill.
39 min: Fabian Delph is released down the left flank by Agbonlahor, but his cross into the penalty area is blocked.
37 min: There’s not a great deal between the sides, but West Brom are definitely looking more likely winners at the moment. Both sides are looking fairly toothless.
34 min: Shay Given tips a deflected, looping shot from Craig Gardner over the bar for a corner. I don’t think it was going to drop under the cross-bar, but it wouldn’t have been too far away. Nothing comes of the corner.
32 min: Craig Dawson beats his man down the right flank and sends in a cross from the touchline. Brown Ideye gets down low to get his head to the ball, but not with enough purchase to trouble Shay Given from six yards.
31 min: Aston Villa win throw-in after throw-in deep in Villa territory, down near the corner flag. Matthew Lowton takes them, but West Brom clear.
28 min: Villa go forward, with Scott Sinclair attempting to cut inside from the left flank and send a cross into the penalty area. Craig Dawson relieves him of possesion and puts the ball out for a throw-in.
26 min: Good play from West Brom, who switch play from wing to wing before winning a throw-in deep in Villa territory. There’s a pause as Craig Gardner bursts a couple of balloons that had floated on to the pitch, then Joleon Lescott takes the throw-in. Villa clear.
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25 min: With a little over quarter of the game, iut remains goalless, but quite entertaining for all that. West Brom have missed a sitter, while Villa have looked quite error-prone at the back. It’s pretty open so far and a tough one to call.
24 min: Brunt plays a diagonal pass wide to Brown, down by the corner flag. The striker cuts inside and unleashes a low drive from the edge of the penalty area. It’s anything but venomous and Given saves easily.
22 min: Referee Anthony Taylor makes a decision that Claudio Yacob doesn’t like, prompting the Argentinian to complain at great length. James Morrison pushes his team-mate away from the referee, prompting Taylor to summon both West Brom captain Chris Brunt and Yacob, in order to tell the former to inform the latter to shut his yap.
20 min: Charles N’Zogbia drives forward up the inside left after picking the ball up from Delph. West Brom win the ball back and clear their lines. Moments later, Delph attempts to play N’Zogbia in behind the West Brom defence, but his pass has too much welly on it and zips wide.
19 min: Fabian Delph and Charles N’Zogbiua combine down the right flank, probing for an opening. They end up switching play to the other side of the field, before James Morrison sends West Brom up field on the counter-attack, but nothing comes of it.
17 min: Leandro Bacuna stands a high ball up towards thge far post, for Gabriel Agbonlahor to get on the end of. It’s a bit too high and short of climbing a stepladder, the Villa striker had no hope of keeping it in play.
14 min: Brown Ideye is caught offside while trying to control a dinked ball over the top from Saido Berahino. Nice work from West Brom, but the decision was correct.
13 min: James Morrison goes to ground after being tackled by Charles N’Zogbia, who’s booked for his trouble.
12 min: West Brom win a free-kick, about halfway inside the Villa half. The ball’s floated into the penalty area and cleared immediately.
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10 min: Aston Villa are denied a corner after a Charles N’Zogbia cross goes out off Gabriel Agbonlahor, only for the officials to award a goal kick.
9 min: On BBC, co-commentator Mark Lawrenson has already cracked the “50 shades of Shay” gag you just know he’s been working on for days. It is greeted by predictably stony silence from commentator Jonathan Pearce.
7 min: Brown Ideye shoots over the bar from seven yards out after getting on the end of a wonderful, inch-perfect cross swept into the penalty area by Craig Gardner. That’s a terrible, terrible miss. He was unmarked with just Given to beat, but somehow side-footed the ball over when it looked easier to score.
6 min: Saido Berahino tests Shay Given with a low diagonal drive, which the Irishman gets down to save comfortably.
4 min: Delph tries to pick out Charles N’Zogbia, but overhits his pass and the ball goes out for a West Brom goal-kick.
2 min: Joleon Lescott appears to be playing at left-back for West Brom, with Jonas Olsson and Gareth McAuley in the heart of their defence. He’ll be up against Charles N’Zogbia, who’s playing on the right flank for Villa, with Scott Sinclair on the left. Villa win a free-kick halfway inside their own half and send the ball forward.
1 min: West Brom get the ball rolling, just as I sort out some last-minute technical difficulties in time for kick-off. Villa Park is packed to the rafters, with 6,500 West Brom fans present to prevent the home fans from having it all their own way.
Aston Villa v West Brom - line-ups
Aston Villa: Given, Bacuna, Okore, Clark, Lowton, Cleverley, Westwood, Delph, N’Zogbia, Agbonlahor, Sinclair.
Subs: Guzan, Weimann, Sanchez, Gil, Kinsella, Calder, Grealish.
West Brom: Myhill, McAuley, Dawson, Olsson, Lescott, Yacob,
Morrison, Berahino, Gardner, Brunt, Ideye.
Subs: Foster, Wisdom, Baird, Pocognoli, McManaman, Mulumbu, Sessegnon.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire)
#AVFC (v @WBAFCOfficial): Given, Lowton, Okore, Clark, Bacuna, Westwood, Delph (c), Cleverley, Sinclair, Agbonlahor, N’Zogbia. #AVFCLIVE
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) March 7, 2015
Albion v @AVFCOfficial: Myhill, Dawson, McAuley, Lescott, Olsson, Brunt, Morrison, Yacob, Gardner, Berahino, Ideye. #AVLWBA #COYB #FACup
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBAFCofficial) March 7, 2015
Aston Villa v West Brom - team news
Christian Benteke misses Aston Villa’s today’s game and is not in Aston Villa’s squad despite scoring the winner on Tuesday night. Scott Sinclair replaces him, while Shay Given and Leandro Bacuna come in for Brad Guzan and the suspended Alan Hutton.
For West Brom, Ben Foster is replaced by Boaz Myhill after his poor performance on Tuesday, which ended with him conceding the last-gasp penalty, while Jonas Olsson comes in for the cup-tied Darren Fletcher.
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In another FA Cup news: Reading boss Steve Clarke has accused the Football Association of “devaluing the competition” after bowing to Uefa pressure to stage their FA Cup quarter-final replay with Bradford a week on Monday. The two lowest-ranked sides left in the competition must meet again with the prize of a Wembley semi-final at stake after cancelling each other out in a gutsy goalless draw at Valley Parade on Saturday.
A Uefa rule prohibits FA Cup games being played at the same time as continental fixtures and means both clubs face a replay less than 48 hours after difficult away league games at Watford and Notts County respectively. “I think the FA are devaluing the competition a little bit by making both teams play on Saturday then Monday,” said Clarke. “Why don’t they just play it (on Tuesday or Wednesday) - what are Uefa going to do? I love the FA Cup and everything it stands for. Bradford’s run to this point has been amazing and all that romance is there but the FA choose to make both teams play on a Monday. That is the one disappointment.”
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Hello all. It seems like just four days ago that Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa were taking advantage of a last-minute rush of blood to the head from West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster to snatch a 2-1 win in this fixture and end a run of seven consecutive Premier League defeats and claw their way out of the Premier League relegation zone. Today, the Baggies will be hoping to exact revenge by knocking their East Midlands rivals out of the FA Cup to earn a berth in the semi-finals.
As anyone who watched BT Sport’s coverage of Tuesday night’s match between the sides can attest, the Sherwood-cam footage was considerably more entertaining than most of the football on offer, so here’s hoping the broadcasters will devote the lion’s share of the screen to constant coverage of Tim’s touchline histrionics and relegate the game itself to a small rectangle in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Whatever happens, we hope you won’t miss a pulse-check, fist-pump, celebratory touchline charge or angry, expletive-ridden rant from top flight football’s most enthusiastic, least cynical gaffer. So many Tims, so little time.
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