Unai Emery explains his Aston Villa priority, Boubacar Kamara excellence and Austin MacPhee masterclass
BirminghamLive brings you the talking points from Aston Villa's 1-0 win over Middlesbrough in the FA Cup third round
Our dedicated Aston Villa reporter is always on the pulse of all things claret and blue, from major talking points to transfer news to match action, John Townley will bring you the very latest from Bodymoor Heath and Villa Park.
Aston Villa are in the hat for the FA Cup fourth round after seeing off Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday night.
Matty Cash’s 87th minute goal was all that separated the sides, who looked to be heading for a replay. Before Cash’s deflected strike broke the deadlock, Ezri Konsa hit the post, Alex Moreno missed from close range and Moussa Diaby also passed up on gilt-edged chance to put the visitors ahead.
The win was Villa’s first victory in the FA Cup for eight years having last won a match in the competition back in 2016. Following a remarkable 2023, it was also the perfect way to start the new year, with a clean sheet and a late win on the road in front of more than 4.,000 Villans who sung loud and proud all night.
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Here are the talking points from Villa’s win…
CASH AND FULL-BACK COACH
Villa controlled the match in the first half but didn’t make an opening as their build-up was too slow and predictable. Neither Villa or Boro wanted a replay, so the game opened up in the second period.
Despite the speculation around his future, Jhon Duran started the match, but didn’t look like scoring. He was replaced with 20 minutes left, as well as Leon Bailey, John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker.
Nicolo Zaniolo and Douglas Luiz both impressed off bench, but Villa’s winning goal came from an unlikely source in Cash. He received the ball from Douglas Luiz on the edge of the box and drilled the ball towards goal before a deflection off Emmanuel Lathe Latte beat Tom Glover.
“He has improved me a lot and we have a full-back coach as well,” Cash explained after full-time. “In recent weeks I have struggled with my calf but hopefully I can go on and kick on."
Asked about the specialist full-back coach, Unai Emery said: "I think every team are working at a high level now collectively and individually and I believe and I trust in my assistant coaches. We are doing different work and of course, we are very, very deeply analysing the details in football."
Back in pre-season, BirminghamLive spoke exclusively to Cash about Emery's methods on Claret & Blue. “He has brought in great staff which helped it all massively," Cash explained. "For example we have set-piece coaches, obviously Austin [MacPhee], he worked here already, we have full-back coaches that do loads of work with the full-backs, we have striker coaches too. It’s all another level.
“I’ve never had stuff like that before so to be working with the two coaches that do the full-backs and the defensive side, in a short space of time the improvement we have seen has been really good. It’s all about little details and hopefully that can continue and keep progressing. That’s what he does with players, he makes them better.”
MacPHEE'S SET-PIECES
Austin MacPhee put on a masterclass at the Riverside Stadium, conducting a number of different corner routines which Villa should have taken advantage of before Cash bagged the only goal of the game.
Villa could have won the game by a considerable margin through the chances they created from set plays alone. They had 12 corners to Boro’s five.
"Every team is working a lot on them,” Emery said about his side's set plays. “We are focusing a lot and we are trying to be demanding on how we can improve."
EMERY OUTLINES PRIORITIES
The Villa boss has previously explained that his players must embrace the challenge of competing in different competitions. If Villa can get through the next round - which will be played the weekend before Newcastle at home - then they’ll be two wins away from an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Emery won’t be looking any further than the next game, which is Everton away in the Premier League. It’s the right attitude to have considering the excellent season Villa are enjoying.
“Which competition is the most important? We have to go into each match and get the best result,” Emery explained. "The first target is to be consistent through the Premier League and then to try be consistent in the Conference League and the FA Cup.
"But of course we have to be consistent and we have to face each competition and improve."
MORENO AND RAMSEY FINDING RHYTHM
Considering the adversity which Emery has had to put up with in the first half of the season, it makes the job he has performed even more remarkable.
Jacob Ramsey and Alex Moreno both suffered setbacks in their respective recoveries from injury earlier this season after Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia both picked up long-term knee injuries back in August. Ramsey and Moreno played crucial roles in Villa’s turnaround under Emery last season and the club’s successful tilt at a European finish.
Moreno will get a run in the team this month after Lucas Digne picked up a hamstring injury in the defeat at Old Trafford last month, while Ramsey has grown in confidence in the last two games against Burnley and Middlesbrough after playing within himself for a few weeks.
They dominated the left flank against Boro and combined well throughout the match. There’s plenty more to come from the duo in the second half of the season.
KAMARA'S WELCOME RETURN
The return of Boubacar Kamara is also a huge boost for Emery and Villa. The midfielder was the man of the match on the night.
He won more duels, fouls and tackles than any other player on the pitch. Kamara put his foot in and did the dirty work, which was crucial even if Villa dominated large spells of the match.
He was sorely missed in Villa’s previous three games while he served a three-match ban after being sent off against Brentford last month. Sometimes, it's easier to notice how important Kamara is to this Villa side when he is not actually playing.
KONSA'S VERDICT
Another contender for man of the match was Ezri Konsa, who strolled through the game if truth be told.
“We knew it wasn't going to be easy,” he said after the match. “Middlesbrough are a good team. We had to come here and be defensively strong and we did that today.
"There were moments they put us under pressure but we defended well and got the win.
"Since I have been here we've not gone before the third round before. It has been tough. At the end all I could think about was getting the win."
CLARET & BLUE VERDICT