Villa avoid FA Cup replay with late goal from Matty Cash
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Soccer Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Middlesbrough v Aston Villa - Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, Britain - January 6, 2024 Aston Villa's Matty Cash celebrates after the match Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough
REUTERS
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MIDDLESBROUGH, England - Matty Cash scored a last-gasp goal to send Aston Villa into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in eight years with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday.
The two sides appeared destined for a replay before Cash broke the deadlock in the 87th minute with his fourth goal of the season, a hard shot from just outside the 18-yard box that deflected in off Middlesbrough's Emmanuel Latte Lath.
Villa, seven-time FA Cup winners, had not reached the fourth round since 2016 when they beat fourth-tier Wycombe 2-0.
Villa manager Unai Emery's team played eight games in a hectic December schedule and are in the thick of the Premier League title race in second place, three points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Villans had numerous chances at Riverside Stadium, including a near-miss early in the second half when Jhon Duran rose to meet a corner kick but glanced his header off the far post, while Nicolo Zaniolo sent a long-range shot sailing just wide of the net shortly before Cash made the breakthrough.
Championship (second tier) side Middlesbrough were FA Cup runners-up in the 1996-97 season. REUTERS
