West Ham United manager Graham Potter gestures to his players during the FA Cup match against Aston Villa on January 10, 2025. Villa manager Unai Emery is seen in the background
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Graham Potter era at West Ham got off to a disappointing and controversial start when Aston Villa came from behind to beat Potter’s side 2-1 and knock it out of the FA Cup on Friday (January 10, 2025).
The third-round match will be remembered for a poor decision in the buildup to Morgan Rogers’ winning goal.
Lucas Paquetá put the Hammers ahead after just nine minutes only for Amadou Onana to equalize for Villa with 19 minutes remaining.
But the referee gave the home team a 75th-minute corner after an Onana shot flew wide and it was from that decision that Rogers scored the winner. After the ball was cleared Ollie Watkins sent it back into the box for Rogers to fire home.
Video replay clearly showed Onana’s shot did not hit a West Ham player and should have been a goalkick.
A former Swansea, Brighton and Chelsea coach, Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui this week to return to management after almost two years out the game.
But after its bright start his team ceded too much possession and territory to Villa and it is the home side that goes into the fourth round seeking a first FA Cup win since 1957.
Wycombe defeats Portsmouth
In the night’s other game, third-tier Wycombe scored twice in the first half to advance past second-division Portsmouth 2-0.
The match pitted the second in League One against the team second from bottom of the Championship and it went with the form side.
Brandon Hanlan gave Wycombe the lead after 17 minutes when he lashed home from close range and Sonny Bradley doubled their advantage 10 minutes later with a header from a speculative free kick.
FA Cup winner in 2008, Portsmouth made three changes at halftime but it made little difference as Wycombe competently saw out the game.
Published – January 11, 2025 10:52 am IST
