Preston 0 Aston Villa 3: Marcus Rashford finally breaks drought to leave Villans two wins from first trophy in 30 years
FINALLY Marcus Rashford is making headlines for the right reasons again.
It has been a troubled season for the England forward but his first goals in almost four months ensured it could still finish in glorious fashion.
What a month April could be for Villa as they face a Champions League quarter-final and will now head to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final at the end of it. If they can get Rashford back to his best then who knows what could happen?
He tapped home a Lucas Digne cross before converting a penalty six minutes later. Jacob Ramsey rounded things off with a long range effort for the third.
And his confidence is clearly back again as shortly afterwards he stepped up to take the penalty which sealed Aston Villa’s ticket to Wembley.
Of course this was against a team who lie 14th in the Championship.
Rashford will be judged on how he performs in the bigger tests – such as the double header against Champions League opponents Paris Saint Germain next month.
But these goals will have done him the power of good – and mean he is dreaming of a glorious end to a troubled season for him.
Preston were playing at this stage of the competition for the first time since 1966 and there was a party mood among the Deepdale fans.
That extended into the start of the game as many of the balloons stayed on the pitch due to the swirling wind – causing a few issues for the players.
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Yet Villa – at the start of what could be a huge month for them – could not burst the home crowd’s enthusiasm.
They had lots of the ball and a few good opportunities but could not make any of them count.
The best one fell to England defender Ezri Konsa who got on the end a cross from Marco Asensio but guided his header wide.
They won a string of free-kicks in promising positions but did nothing with any of them and Rashford was particularly culpable for wasting them.
North End were well organised and had comfortably dealt with most things Villa had thrown at them in the early stages.
And then Paul Heckingbottom’s men had a golden chance to take the lead.
Robbie Brady’s chip to the back post was pushed away by Emi Martinez but then headed straight back into the danger zone.
With the Argentine keeper stranded Stefan Thordarson probably had more time than he realised and steered his header wide.
Even so, Heckingbottom would have been well pleased with his team going in goalless at the break.
After all, this is a Villa team who will play in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in just over a week – and they had looked anything but.
Preston had not lost at home since early November and they had shown why teams have found it so difficult here.
Yet there were signs soon after the restart that gaps were starting to appear in the home defence.
Rashford benefitted from a lucky deflection into his path to go clean through but was denied by home keeper David Cornell.
Yet his long wait to find the net did not last too much longer.
A fluent move down the left saw Asensio play in Digne and his low cross was tapped home by Rashford.
What a relief for the England forward and it clearly did his confidence a power of good.
Morgan Rogers – who had seen an effort cleared off the line moments earlier – went down under a challenge from Andrew Hughes.
He made the most of it but a penalty was given and Rashford – with his trademark shuffle – sent Cornell the wrong way.
With Villa fans singing about Wembley, PNE knew the game was up. The only question was how many the visitors would score.
They got another one as Ramsey collected a short free-kick and was allowed far too much time and space to rifle his shot into the corner.
And Rashford got a standing ovation from the visiting fans as he was subbed shortly before the end.
The man who replaced him Ollie Watkins fluffed a golden chance to make it four late on but it didn’t matter – Rashford had already put the outcome beyond doubt.