Crystal Palace 3 Aston Villa 0: Eagles reach first FA Cup final in nine years after Eze screamer set tone at Wembley
EZE does it.
The Eagles cruised into the third FA Cup final in their history thanks to a brilliant goal by their talismanic No 10 Eberechi Eze and two second-half strikes by fellow forward Ismaila Sarr.
When Jean-Philippe Mateta fired wide from a penalty won by Eze early in the second half, you wondered if it would turn the tide in VIlla’s favour.
But Sarr soon produced a moment which was as thrilling as Eze’s first-half opener and added a third in stoppage time in front of their ecstatic fans.
And so Palace made good on boss Oliver Glasner’s pre-match promise.
The Austrian talked up the ability of players like Eze and Sarr to deliver “magic” when it mattered most.
Glasner also said he would only don traditional formal attire if Palace secured another date at Wembley by reaching the final.
Now, suited and booted, he will lead the pride of South London across the river again in three weeks’ time in search of the club’s first major trophy.
For this Palace team, the cup run had the feeling of now or never.
With Eze, Mateta, Adam Wharton and captain Marc Guehi all on the radar of “bigger” clubs this summer, a chance like this might not arrive again for a while.
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And perhaps on May 17, it will be third time lucky, after the heartbreak of finals nine years ago and in 1990.
For Villa, defeat means a thrilling season of Champions League nights could yet end in bitter disappointment.
Wins earlier in the day for top-five rivals Chelsea and Newcastle leave Unai Emery’s side adrift in seventh place.
They will need to bounce back quickly from this disappointment if they are to earn the right to show they belong among Europe’s elite again.
Villa could have no complaints about this defeat as their much-heralded attack, minus the injured Marcus Rashford, fired blanks while Palace’s main men turned up in style.
But too many flares and not enough flair was the story of a first half that was poor until Eze’s stunner.
The Palace fans had been the more animated before kick off and surely earned their club a fine in record time.
They had come equipped not only with a £13,000 tifo banner but also with a number of illicit fireworks that they set off in the opening 30 seconds.
A pall of smoke duly covered their half of the pitch, but anyone whose view was obscured did not miss much.
Early on Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez stood stock still with the ball at his feet for several seconds, staring down the equally motionless Mateta.
It summed up the stalemate that followed.
Palace sat off, happy to concede possession and hold their narrow shape while Villa struggled to find a way through.
The game needed someone to take it by the scruff of the neck. When Mateta and then Morgan Rogers tried, they were halted by Kamara and Tyrick Mitchell respectively. Both players were booked for their cynicism.
The first proper chance fell to Rogers whose first-time shot into the ground went wide
Mateta put the ball in the net at the other end but only after tripping Ezri Konsa, so the goal was rightly disallowed.
But there was no denying Eze moments later.
Sarr closed down Pau Torres and took out FIVE Villa players with a run inside and pass.
Eze, waiting inside the D, hit it first time.
The curling shot was fierce enough to give Martinez the benefit of the doubt, but close enough to him to make you wonder whether the ‘keeper that the VIlla Park announcer calls the best in the world should have done better.
Torres went close to redeeming himself but his header after a corner drifted wide.
It was a much better game at last. Mateta robbed Kamara, beat him and Konsa, and crossed for Sarr, who headed off target.
Konsa then put a header on target from a corner, but Henderson scrambled it off the line.
The Villa defender was close to getting a touch on another cross and Marco Asensio had a shot blocked.
But it was Palace who almost scored again, only for Mitchell to make an airshot with his weaker right foot from Sarr’s perfect centre.
Within five minutes of the restart, Henderson had made two fine saves to keep his side ahead.
The first,from John McGinn’s rising shot, showed off the England ‘keeper’s reflexes. The second was arguably better, as he dived full length to keep out Lucas Digne’s shot after the resulting corner.
How precious those saves soon seemed when Chris Richards brought down Eze in the box.
But Mateta hit the penalty wide of Martintez’s left-hand post, prompting a trademark celebration from the Argentinian World Cup winner.
Martinez wasn’t so chipper for long, though. Wharton robbed Youri Tielemans and Mateta fed Sarr.
The Senegal star unleashed a shot from outside the D that had enough power and bend to beat Martinez.
Emery threw on Ian Maatsen and Leon Bailey, and the latter soon had a sight of goal.
But the Jamaica international’s low shot was deflected over the bar by prostrate team-mate Torres.
Villa applied some pressure but could not find the final ball against a committed Palace defence.
After Henderson beat away a Bailey cross, Sarr should have sealed it with 10 minutes to go, but sent a free header wide.
No matter. In the fourth of seven minutes of stoppage time, Villa lost the ball in midfield again and Sarr ran on before putting the cherry on top of a brilliant day for Palace.