Marcus Rashford scored his first goals for Aston Villa, netting twice as they defeated Championship side Preston North End 3-0 at Deepdale on Sunday, March 30th, to secure a place in the FA Cup semi-finals. Villa will face fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace at Wembley.
Preston, the last remaining team from outside the top flight, held their own in a competitive first half and had the best chance when Stefan Thordarson headed wide after Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez failed to clear properly.
However, Villa’s superior quality shone through after the break. Rashford, on loan from Manchester United since January, broke the deadlock 13 minutes into the second half (58th minute), side-footing home a low cross from Lucas Digne. Rashford had earlier been denied by Preston goalkeeper Dai Cornell.
Morgan Rogers then saw a close-range effort heroically blocked on the line shortly after Villa took the lead. However, the visitors soon doubled their advantage when Rogers was fouled in the box by Andrew Hughes, and Rashford confidently converted the resulting penalty.
Jacob Ramsey sealed the victory with an excellent third goal, finishing precisely after a driving run to the edge of the Preston box. Substitute Ollie Watkins missed two late opportunities to add further gloss to the scoreline, but the result was never in doubt.
The win keeps Aston Villa’s hopes of winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1957 alive, adding to their strong campaigns in the Premier League and Champions League. They reached their last FA Cup semi-final in the 2014-15 season, eventually losing the final to Arsenal. Nottingham Forest will face either Bournemouth or Manchester City in the other semi-final. For Preston, the defeat ends their impressive cup run.
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